Murder, she examined

If you really pay attention to Pen-Ek Ratanurang's yakuza romance drama Last Life in the Universe, you'll notice an extra with spiky hair in a surgeon's gown sitting at a desk in the background at the hospital where characters Kenji and Noi end up.

The wildly coiffed contenance is possibly a reference to Dr Pornthip Rojanasunan, a renowned forensic pathologist who has been at the center of many controversial murder cases in Thailand.

Recently, the good doctor gave a talk at a school, telling the students she loved suspense movies, especially medical detective movies.

"I loved and still enjoy dancing but I don’t like going to discotheques. They start so late and I’m already sleepy by then," the doctor said.

The young audience at Bangkok Pattana school asked how she dealt with her father, who was "very strict".

"I knew I couldn’t fight him, so I just tried to avoid him," she said, citing her choice of doing her internship at farflung Phitsanulok Hospital after graduation as an example of such an evasion.

"With strict parents, you can run but you cannot hide.

"My parents helped shape and discipline me, and I’m grateful for that.”

"After conducting so many autopsies on victims of gruesome murders, do you agree with capital punishment?"a student enquired.

"No, I don’t," she said without hesitation. "I see from my work the many contributing factors that lead to murder. Often, the culprit’s action is an unavoidable outcome."

The young inquisitors of course could not deny being interested in the doctor’s prickly hairstyle.

Pornthip revealed that despite her experience in difficult surgery and her fine motor skills, it takes her about 20 minutes to set her pineapple-style hair in the morning.

"I am not a fashion victim, but I have created a style of my own," she said.

"But I do hope you have learned more from me today than the secrets of my spiky head!"