In the past 22 years, he has tried to solve mysteries behind the deaths of more than 10,000 people - including 200 homicide investigations - has carried out autopsies on about 3,500 bodies, and supervised another 7,000 or so cases. But it is difficult to imagine the easygoing and relaxed Dr Philip Beh Swan-lip as one of the brains behind the cracking of the city's most notorious and high-profile killings.
And going by the state of his office, perhaps it's a small miracle, too. Inside, there is the ubiquitous microscope, mounds of paperwork, files, and textbooks spread over the tables and cabinets like landfill. Perched atop one heap sits a box of half-finished Merci chocolates. The messiness and amiable politeness remind me of Lieutenant Columbo from the popular US television series in the 1970s, the untidy homicide investigator in a crumpled trenchcoat who was ever polite to the suspects, but always got the confession from even the most cunning murderer.
So it seemed with the veteran forensic pathologist and pathology professor at the University of Hong Kong: there's more going on behind his warm smile.
Dr Beh does not believe in ghosts - a good thing considering his line of work - nor does he have a religion. However, he strongly believes in 'natural justice' - karma if you like: that people eventually are paid back for what they have done during their lives.
'These days, I no longer feel bad about the unresolved cases - I know I have done my best and tried everything,' he said. It is this attitude that has helped steel him for the often horrific nature of his work.
There is also a high-profile side to the job. One such case involved Filipino socialite Maria Coady, who stabbed her Swiss lover, Gregoire Weil, to death in December 1997.
