Lee invites fourth forensics expert

Chinese-American forensics expert Henry Lee (李昌鈺) has invited another seasoned expert, Charles Illsley, to accompany him to Taipei to help look into the March 19 shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), sources said yesterday.

Illsley, with years of experience in criminal investigation, excels in fingerprinting and laser technology.

Lee will rely on alternative light source (ALS) technology -- a new method developed by Illsley to search for tiny amounts of chemicals or other substances that cannot be detected by the naked eye.

For example, ALS can detect blood stains even after they have been washed away or coated with paint.

Sources said that ALS has played an important role in criminal investigations in the US and that evidence collected at crime scenes by the technology has been important in many criminal court cases.

With the assistance of the technology, Lee hopes to shed light on the circumstances of the shooting in which Chen's lower abdomen was grazed by a bullet and Lu suffered a minor wound to her right knee.

Police have not arrested any suspects to date in connection with the assassination attempt.

Lee was invited by State Public Prosecutor General Lu Ren-fa (盧仁發) to help in the investigations after the pan-blue alliance called for an independent investigation committee to be set up to look into the incident. The opposition has said that the shooting won last-minute sympathy votes for Chen in the election.

Lee commissioned three US forensics experts to collect information and examine the scene of the shooting for clues. The men visited Taiwan for two days last week.