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Appeal to more possible witnesses

Investigators released more pictures yesterday of potential witnesses to the shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)and Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) in Tainan on March 19.

Officials urged those in the photos -- a man carrying a little girl on his shoulders and two people with their backs to the camera -- to report to police.

The little girl in the first photo was waving a green flag and there was a woman using a mobile phone in the background.

The second picture shows a person -- wearing a white cap and a dark T-shirt with two orange stripes -- walking away from the camera.

Investigators have yet to identify any suspects, but have been trying to interview people who lined the streets of Tainan City to greet Chen's campaign motorcade.

Officials said they wanted to know whether those featured in the picture saw anything suspicious at the scene.

Two young women appeared at the Tainan City Prosecutors' Office on Thursday after investigators showed their photos on TV.

The women were questioned but officials did not reveal any details of the questioning. The women were not detained.

Tainan Chief Prosecutor Kuo Chen-ni (郭珍妮) declined yesterday to say whether investigators had made any progress.

Three US forensics experts visited the shooting scene of the shooting earlier this week.

They also examined and verified Chen's stomach wound, countering conspiracy theories that the shooting had been faked or engineered by the president or his supporters.

The team was sent by renowned Taiwanese-American forensics expert Henry Lee (李昌鈺) at the

request of the government.

Lee is expected to submit a report, using the team's information, to authorities when he visits Taipei later this month.

In an interview with a local cable news station, Lee said he doubted conspiracy theories that Chen staged the shooting.

However, Lee said that he doubted the shooting was really an assassination attempt, "because an assassin would have aimed at the chest, heart or used a more powerful gun."

Investigators have said the shooter used a home-made handgun.
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