Forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee, widely referred to as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, opened a training center at the Hubei University of Police in Wuhan, central Hubei Province, on Monday to train Chinese detectives.

The new center, the fist of its kind on the Chinese mainland and run by 22 staff members from the university, will focus on forensic research, covering the areas of DNA, fingerprints, gathering of evidence and crime scene investigation.

Dr. Lee said at the inauguration that the center and its staff are committed to promoting the development of forensic science in China.

He said he will introduce the most advanced criminal investigation technologies to China to produce outstanding Chinese detectives. He has promised he will give training seminars to senior Chinese police officers every year at the university.

Zhao Zhifei, a senior official of the 57-year-old university, said he is convinced that forensic research in China will be boosted following the establishment of the workshop.

Sixty-eight-year-old Dr. Henry Lee, a renowned Chinese American, was born on the Chinese mainland and grew up in Taiwan. He is currently the Chief Emeritus of the US Connecticut State Police Laboratory.

He has achieved celebrity status in the United States for his work in forensic science and is regularly called upon to testify in the most high-profile murder cases.

His testimony figured prominently in the O. J. Simpson trial and he has also assisted the US police in the reinvestigation of the Kennedy assassination.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2006)