A top US forensic expert and veteran of high-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson murder trial said he discovered on Friday new clues to the mysterious assassination attempt on Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian.
Within hours of arriving in Taiwan, Henry Lee said his team had re-examined the bullets and casings used in the shooting that lightly wounded Chen and had found distinct markings.
"We saw some machine marks, and these machine marks need further study," Lee told reporters before departing for the southern city of Tainan, where the shooting occurred.
"Naturally every machine will leave a unique mark so we are investigating further," added Lee, who arrived with his team early on Friday with boxes of high-tech equipment. He declined to give more details about the case.
Chen was shot on the eve of March 20's closely fought election, which the president won by a slim 0.2 percent margin.
Opposition parties have suggested the attack was staged to win sympathy votes and demanded a probe by impartial foreign experts.
Chen was gashed across the stomach and Vice President Annette Lu was wounded in the knee by two bullets fired from a home-made handgun as they campaigned in an open-top Jeep.
Lee has said the attack with a low-powered gun did not look like a professional job nor was it self-inflicted, allaying some doubts over the shooting.
Police say they have no suspects for so far, but are seeking two men seen on security video leaving the scene within minutes of the attack, one on foot and the other on a scooter.
Lee, a former Taipei police captain and head of a forensics institute in the US state of Connecticut, is set to interview doctors and nurses who treated the president in Tainan, as well as inspect the Jeep and the scene of the shooting.
Opposition Nationalist leader Lien Chan, whom Chen defeated in the election, says sympathy votes swung the outcome, pointing to opinion polls in his favour before the attack.
The Nationalists had proposed special legislation to set up an independent investigation into the shooting, but the ruling party shelved the bill at a parliament session on Friday.
The Nationalists plan to lead 200,000 supporters in a march to the presidential office on Saturday, which would be their third major protest since the election.
The demonstration will call for a referendum to back a "truth investigation committee", with the Nationalists telling protesters to bring their identity cards and register their support for the ballot.
The opposition have also filed two lawsuits with the High Court - one to invalidate Chen's victory and order a recount, and the other to nullify the election and order a new one.
Analysts see little chance of a new poll but say a recount is nearly certain since Chen has consented to one. Judges and lawyers are to meet on Monday to discuss the recount.
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