TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
(DNA) ΤΟ THEIR
BUT THE RECENT INTRODUCTION OF THE DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID PROFILING TECHNIQUE IN HONG KONG HAS OPENED NEW DIMENSIONS FORENSIC WORK.
MR TSUI HAS RECENTLY BEEN APPOINTED HEAD OF A NEW DNA PROFILING SECTION UNDER THE FORENSIC DIVISION OF THE GOVERNMENT LABORATORY.
DNA PROFILING HAS BEEN HAILED AS A "REVOLUTIONARY" CRIME DETECTION TECHNIQUE IN THE WORLD WHICH CAN VIRTUALLY AND POSITIVELY IDENTIFY A PERSON FROM ANY SCRAP OF BODY FLUIDS OR SUBSTANCES IN A CRIME CASE.
DNA PROFILING MADE ITS DEBUT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM IN 1985 AND IS NOW INCREASINGLY GAINING ACCEPTANCE IN WESTERN COUNTRIES. HONG KONG, ALONG WITH MANY ASIAN COUNTRIES, ARE BEGINNING TO MAKE A START.
"THE NEW TECHNIQUE IS A CONFIDENCE-BOOSTER TO OUR WORK, HE
SAID.
"
MR TSUI HAS BEEN WORKING IN THE GOVERNMENT LABORATORY FOR NIGH ON 12 YEARS SINCE HE GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA IN THE UNITED STATES.
LIKE HIS COLLEAGUES, HE HAS SPENT COUNTLESS
HOURS, DAY AND NIGHT, IN THE LABORATORY HARROWING ON BLOOD STAINS, SEMEN, BODY FLUIDS AND SCRAPS IN ATTEMPTS TO TRACK DOWN CRIMINALS.
WORKING IRREGULAR HOURS AND ON CALL 24 HOURS A DAY, LIFE ΤΟ THEM IS A LONG HARD SLOG. BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN DRAB.
STAINS SAID.
"I HAVE A RECORD OF COLLECTING FORENSIC EVIDENCES LIKE BLOOD AT FOUR DIFFERENT CRIME SCENES DURING AN OVERNIGHT SHIFT, HE
1+
RECALLING HIS FIRST ENCOUNTER OF A DEAD BODY, MR TSUI SAID: "I WAS PSYCHOLOGICALLY PREPARED BUT STILL, I FOUND IT A BIT UNEASY."
SMELL.
I
BUT NOW HE FOUND THEM NOTHING BUT STIFFENED BODIES WITH FOUL
MR TSUI IS BUSY WORKING FOR THE NITTY-GRITTY ASPECTS OF THE SET UP OF THE NEW DNA LABORATORY.
BEFORE THE APPLICATION OF THIS AVANT-GARDE CRIME-BUSTING TECHNIQUE IN HONG KONG, THE SECTION HAS TO TEST A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF BLOOD SAMPLES ΤΟ GATHER RELEVANT DATA FOR THE LOCAL CHINESE POPULATION.
MR TSUI DID NOT RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF CREATING A SEPARATE DATABASE FOR VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE TO HELP DETECT VIOLENT CRIMES AMONG THEM.
HE RECKONS THAT HONG KONG MIGHT WELL BE THE FIRST TERRITORY DRAW UP A LARGE-SCALE DATABASE ON SOUTHERN CHINESE PEOPLE.
ΤΟ
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