Yang Chiew Yung*, Lee L.T, Tan S.K, Yap B.S, Lee G.K
International Symposium of Forensic Science and Environmental Health,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 9-10 Nov 2009 (oral presentation)
[abstract]
To investigate if signatures in the form of regularly written, simple Chinese characters could be more easily simulated than those written in a cursive manner or incorporating some form of design, and if such simulations could be accepted as genuine, simulated signatures were collected from one hundred and eight participants and analysed in this study. The findings indicate that none of the imitations could have been accepted as genuine in view of the poor fluency, differences in line quality and other features falling outside the range of natural variation of the writer. This shows that even for a simple signature comprising few strokes, it would still be difficult to simulate it accurately and fluently to such an extent that it would escape detection by a forensic document examiner’s trained eye. However, in view of the varying range of natural variation for different writers, it would be prudent to exercise greater care in the examination of such simple signatures.