News stories about US forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee (
The former commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Public Safety was born in Juhao County, Chiangsu Province, China, on Nov. 22, 1938. With his 12 brothers and sisters, Lee moved to Taiwan with his parents in 1947. Lee's father died during the trip.
When he was 19, Lee was admitted to Tamkang College, National Taiwan Ocean University and Central Police University. He decided to attend Central Police University because he could not afford the tuition at the other schools.
After he graduated, Lee, like many other officers, started on the force as a captain in the foreign affairs department. Eventually he quit his job because at that time the most important positions on the force were assigned only to military personnel.
Lee and his wife Margaret decided to move to Malaysia to begin a new life. In Kuala Lumpur, Lee was editor in chief of a Chinese-language newspaper. The couple decided to move to New York in 1966.
Six years later, Lee earned his second bachelor's degree in forensic science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Lee continued his studies and earned a master's in science and a doctoral degree in biochemistry from New York University. He completed his graduate studies in only two years.
In 1975, he volunteered to assist the Connecticut State Police in developing their forensic laboratory services and he introduced the Major Crime Squad concept for criminal investigations. In the meantime, he had also completed special training courses at the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and at other institutions.
In 1979, he was appointed the first chief criminalist for the state of Connecticut.
Currently, he is the chief emeritus of the Connecticut State Police, founder and professor of the Forensic Science Program at the University of New Haven and an adjunct professor at 10 other universities and law schools in the US and abroad.
Lee, already well-known, became famous when he testified in the O. J. Simpson case in 1994. Partly due to Lee's forensic analysis, Simpson was found not guilty.
When he was appointed the commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Public Safety in 1998, he was the first Taiwanese-American to become the top police officer in any US state.
During his 45 years as a forensic scientist, Lee has investigated more than 4,000 homicides a year. He testifies as an expert witness more than 100 times a year.
Lee has assisted local investigators with many cases in Taiwan, such as the Hsichih Trio murder case and the murder of naval captain Yin Ching-feng (
Lee's wife once described him as a workaholic. Her view seems to be confirmed by Lee's coming to Taiwan to assist in the investigation of Chen and Lu's shooting.
According to Hou You-yi (侯友宜), commissioner of the National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau, Lee started working immediately after he landed in Taiwan at 5am on Friday. He didn't eat or drink anything until around 8am, in Tainan.
"He spent more than 20 hours in the air, another 20 hours working afterward and then got up again to have a meeting with us yesterday morning. He only slept for about four hours but he never said he was tired," Hou said. "He did nothing but work."
In addition to his professional skills and expertise in forensic science, Lee is also well-known for his passion for helping the younger generation. Most forensic scientists in Taiwan were his students at one time, including Taiwan's top forensic officer, Judy Cheng (程曉桂).
"Lee has been my mentor. Because of this, I try to tell my students everything I know whenever we have a chance to work on cases," Cheng said.
"If there is anything good that I have, I got it from him," she said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial