Hong Kong customs officers detain founder of prominent fingerprint analysis firm
Mark Lee is accused of faking his qualifications and company certification; firm tests fingerprints of children to analyse their intelligence and strengths
Customs officers detained the founder of prominent analysis firm Dr Fingerprint for allegedly faking his qualifications in a bid to lure customers to test the intelligence and strengths of their children through fingerprint analysis.
Lee was held for allegedly breaching the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. Officers also seized a batch of suspected fake certificates. A female employee from the centre was also seen being taken away.
A source close to the investigation said the department received a complaint a few months ago over Lee’s qualifications, which prompted officers to undertake undercover operations.
“The initial probe showed the founder faked his qualifications and certification, which misled customers to believe he was a leading expert and buy his services,” the source said.
“But the quality and accuracy of the analysis is not covered by the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. It is science after all. We cannot tell if he was fooling customers with the reports,” the source said.
Dr Fingerprint provided fingerprint analysis, saying the ridges on a person’s fingers could tell what kind of person he or she was. It encouraged parents to undergo a joint analysis with their children to foster better understanding and communication. Each analysis cost HK$2,980.
Listing past media coverage and interviews on its website, Dr Fingerprint claimed it was the most authoritative and the only awarded fingerprint analysis centre in Hong Kong.
The firm said it received a Qualifications and Credit Framework in Britain in 2013, making it the only fingerprint analysis centre in Asia to obtain such a qualification.
Lee told the media he was an academic doctor in behavioural science and the only professor recognised by Britain’s Cambridge Management Academy in the field.
Lee said he helped more than 10,000 families over the past decade and received testimonials from celebrities including singer Stephy Tang Lai-yan and actor Ray Lui Leung-wai.
The centre also offered a certified analyst programme costing HK$9,800.
Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, it is an offence for a trader to provide customers with misleading information. The maximum penalty for those breaching the law is a fine of HK$500,000 and five years in jail.
