Body Weight Determination from Foot Outline Length among the Iban Population in Malaysia

Abstract

Foot impressions form a valuable physical evidence to solve crime. Foot impression measurements provide valuable information in estimating stature, weight, gender and age in crime scene investigation. In Asian countries, many people living in rural places walk without footwear. The aim of this research is to generate regression equations to determine living body weight from foot outline length among the Iban population of Malaysia. The study involved 200 (100 males, 100 females) adult Ibans, mostly living in Sarawak, a state in Malaysia. Following the standard procedure, the foot outlines were collected followed by body weight measurements and were recorded for analysis. The collected data were analysed with PASW 20 computer software. The correlation coefficient (R) between the foot outline lengths and body weight was determined for males, females and pooled sample. Based on the foot outline and body weight, 30 regression equations were generated, 10 for males, 10 for females and 10 for pooled samples/unknown gender. The correlation coefficient (R) values were positive and statistically significant. It is concluded that the present investigation provided regression equations to determine body weight from foot outline anthropometry. These equations can be used to determine body weight even when partial foot impressions are available at crime scenes. Keywords: Forensic Science, Body Weight, Foot Outline, Iban Population, Malaysia