Three US forensic scientists yesterday said that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) stomach wound was caused by a gunshot.
"All three of us agree that the president sustained a gunshot wound," Cyril Wecht, a respected forensic scientist, told reporters.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Flanked by trajectory analyst Michael Haag and crime-scene-identification analyst Timothy Palmbach, Wecht said that the trio had visited Chen at the Presidential Office yesterday morning and carried out a careful examination of the president's wound.
"We are forensic scientists and we make sure what and how the suspect caused the damage or injury," Wecht said. "But we are not here to decide who committed the crime. In addition, we are not law enforcement officers in Taiwan. We are independent forensic scientists and we are here to assist local law enforcement officers with their investigations."
Chen and his vice president were wounded by what police suspect to be two bullets fired during a street rally in Tainan the day before the presidential election.
Palmbach endorsed a preliminary investigation by the National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau, which said that it would be difficult to identify the pistol that fired the shots because of the poor quality of the homemade bullets.
Since arriving in Taiwan on Monday, the scientists have been accompanied by cable channel ETTV executive director Joanna Lei (雷倩), whose company organized a press conference for the visiting experts yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party politicians, however, have questioned Lei's role in the investigation because of her political background.
Lei unsuccessfully ran in the 2001 legislative election for the New Party.
"I did not join in any discussion about the case while they were talking to officers or prosecutors," Lei said. "I simply helped them translate when necessary."
Wecht told reporters: "You guys have been working hard with us wherever we were so there are no secrets about who we met or what we did during our stay here in Taiwan."
Wecht, who has disputed the official Warren Commission report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, said that it would take two weeks for the scientists to complete their work and that they would hand the results to Dr. Henry (李昌鈺) before he comes to Taipei sometime around April 13.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS