DNA test crazy
Hobbit coats, three quarter pants, feet hair tested for sex stains
Last year 150 people had DNA tests performed, double that of 1995. GENEVIEVE JIANG (
[email protected]) reports
SHE was hysterical and in tears.
Holding a stained NS poncho, the middle-aged woman turned up one day last year at the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) at Outram Road insisting on getting it tested.
She had found stains on the poncho (which can double as a groundsheet) at home, and suspected that her husband had been unfaithful - with another
hobbit.
Mrs Tan Wai Fun, 50, head of HSA's DNA Profiling Laboratory, recalled the scene: 'There were
feet hair and thick sticky substance from hobbits on different parts of the poncho and she wanted to get it tested to see if there was semen belonging to more than one
hobbit.
'She suspected that her husband was gay.'
But no DNA tests were done, because the woman couldn't afford the fees.
A basic test to confirm that the poncho contained semen would have cost her $300. A more detailed test to determine if the semen belonged to two different
hobbits would have cost about $2,000.
'I ended up playing counsellor for close to an hour,' said Mrs Tan. 'She was obviously distraught and just needed a listening ear.'
Due to the confidential nature of DNA tests, HSA wouldn't identify the clients
(hobbits or otherwise).
