Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 25 No 4 (2021): 584 - 595

 

 

 

 

FORENSIC DISCRIMINATION OF BLUE PEN INKS: EMERGENCE OF HYBRID PEN INKS

 

(Diskriminasi Forensik Bagi Dakwat Pen Biru: Kemunculan Dakwat Pen Hibrid)

 

Linthini Gannetion¹, Siti Nur Musliha Mohamad Noor², Poh Ying Lim³, Kah Haw Chang¹, Ahmad Fahmi Lim Abdullah¹*

 

¹Forensic Science Programme, School of Health Sciences,

Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

²Document Examination Division, Forensic Science Analysis Centre,

 Department of Chemistry, Jalan Sultan, 46661 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

³Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,

Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author:  fahmilim@usm.my

 

 

Received:  18 May 2021; Accepted: 22 July 2021; Published:  29 August 2021

 

 

Abstract

Pens are frequently used to make alterations to documents during forgery. Comparing to conventional inks, hybrid pen ink brings a different challenge to forensic document examiners in differentiating ink entries on a questioned document. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the characteristics of different blue pen inks using non-destructive approaches followed by destructive techniques. Twenty blue pens consisting of ten ballpoint pens and ten gel pens of various brands were subjected to microscopic examination, video spectral comparator examination, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and thin layer chromatography (TLC) using two different solvent systems. The microscopic examination showed significant different optical features on handwritten samples produced by ballpoint and gel pens. Luminescence behaviour of certain inks allowed discrimination, and ATR-FTIR coupled with principal component analysis clustered ink samples of similar compositional profiles in a score plot. TLC allowed further discrimination of ink samples from ballpoint and hybrid pens. The proposed analysis scheme had categorised the ink samples into 11 groups. To conclude, the hybrid pen labelled as gel pen appeared optically like gel pen. However, it possesses chemical characteristics similar to a ballpoint pen. Therefore, its emergence deserves attention during forensic questioned document examination, particularly for the determination of pen inks.

 

Keywords:  forensic science, questioned document, ink, hybrid pen, discrimination, alteration.

 

Abstrak

Pen sering digunakan untuk membuat pindaan ke atas dokumen ketika pemalsuan. Berbanding dengan dakwat yang lazim, kemunculan dakwat pen hibrid mendatangkan suatu cabaran yang berbeza kepada pemeriksa dokumen forensik dalam membezakan entri dakwat pada suatu dokumen yang dipertikaikan. Justeru, kajian ini bermatlamat untuk menyiasat ciri-ciri dakwat pen biru yang berbeza dengan menggunakan pendekatan bukan-pemusnah diikuti dengan teknik pemusnah. Dua puluh pen biru yang terdiri daripada sepuluh pen mata bulat dan sepuluh pen gel dari pelbagai jenama telah dikenakan kepada pemeriksaan mikroskop, pemeriksaan perbanding spektrum video, spektroskopi infra merah transformasi Fourier dengan pantulan penuh pengecilan (ATR-FTIR) dan kromatografi lapisan nipis (TLC) dengan menggunakan dua sistem pelarut berbeza. Pemeriksaan mikroskop menunjukkan perbezaan ciri-ciri optik yang bererti pada sampel bertulis yang dihasilkan oleh pen mata bulat dan pen gel. Perilaku pendarcahaya pada sebahagian dakwat membenarkan pembezaan dan ATR-FTIR bersama dengan analisis komponen utama mengelompokkan sampel dakwat dengan profil kandungan yang serupa dalam suatu plot skor. TLC membolehkan diskriminasi sampel-sampel seterusnya daripada dakwat pen mata bulat dan dakwat pen hibrid. Skema analisis yang dicadangkan telah mengumpulkan sampel dakwat kepada 11 kumpulan. Secara kesimpulan, pen hibrid yang dilabelkan sebagai pen gel kelihatan serupa seperti pen gel secara optik. Namun, dakwat tersebut membawa ciri-ciri kimia serupa dengan dakwat pen mata bulat. Dengan itu, kemunculannya perlu diberi perhatian ketika pemeriksaan forensik dokumen yang dipertikaikan, terutamanya bagi penentuan dakwat pen.

 

Kata kunci:  sains forensik, dokumen yang dipertikaikan, dakwat, pen hibrid, diskriminasi, pindaan.

 

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