Taiwan rejects murder suspect’s surrender offer, says Hong Kong must comply with ‘legal procedures’
- Taiwan says it won’t permit Hong Kong to simply let Chan show up on the island to turn himself in
- Taiwan wants full judicial cooperation from Hong Kong in murder trial
Attempts to arrange for the voluntary return of Hong Kong murder suspect Chan Tong-kai to Taiwan for trial were thrown into disarray on the weekend after the island refused to grant him entry until the city complied with judicial procedures.
Hong Kong police wrote to its counterpart in Taiwan on Friday to relay Chan’s decision to surrender, but the island’s Mainland Affairs Council officially turned down the offer on Sunday, saying Chan could only be allowed in if his entry complied with legal procedures.
“If the Hong Kong government is to send the suspect Chan to Taiwan to surrender, the arrangements must go through the process of mutual judicial cooperation and the Hong Kong side must provide all relevant evidence gathered in Hong Kong to facilitate investigation of the case [on the island],” the council said in a statement.
“If the two sides can engage in judicial cooperation, we believe it would help to smoothly tackle this case and bring justice to the victim.”
Chan is suspected of killing his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing, during a holiday in Taiwan early last year. He was wanted in Taiwan on murder charges but returned to Hong Kong, where he was arrested and convicted of money laundering. He will complete 19 months in custody on Wednesday.
