Isn't he amazing? He can get umpteen degrees and be a major scientist and still can't quite manage English. I think he hams it up like Charo.
Dominick Dunne has famously stated that Dr. Lee plays a "Charlie Chan routine" to juries. It certainly seems like an act.
Maybe he is a Charlie Chan wanna be from the old movies. Google shows Charlie Chan as a detective in the Honolulu Police Department who always solved the crime.