Chan Tong-kai, who allegedly killed his girlfriend Amber Poon Hiu-wing in Taiwan, triggering the anti-fugitive protests in 2019, has been blacklisted by airlines and is unable to fly across the strait to surrender himself, Peter Koon Ho-ming said.
Koon, who has been relaying messages for 23-year-old Chan, said in a televised interview on Sunday that while Chan’s intention to surrender has never changed, both Chan and himself were rejected by airlines and unable to board planes destined to Taiwan.
“We have asked the airlines, and they replied to us ‘you guys should not come’,†said Koon, who is now a lawmaker of the Election Committee constituency.
Noting that the now-withdrawn extradition bill would be the “most ideal way†to repatriate criminals, Koon said Poon’s case might now have to be solved by other means, such as via extraterritorial jurisdiction.
This means that courts in Hong Kong will be authorised to hear the murder case that happened in Taiwan.
But he said using extraterritorial jurisdiction might have issues with the retrospective effect, adding that a “responsible government†should think of ways to plug the loophole.
Chan was released from jail in October 2019 for money laundering after he used properties of his then 20-year-old girlfriend Poon, whom he admitted he had killed in a Valentine’s Day trip to Taiwan in 2018. He was 19-year-old when he committed the offence.
He lived in a safe house provided by Hong Kong police until June last year, and has since lived in a remote part of the city.
Although Chan promised to give himself up to Taiwanese authorities, he was never sent to Taiwan to face the murder charge.
The SAR government later proposed the anti-fugitive bill, which eventually sparked social unrest in 2019, leading to the arrests of many young people. The extradition bill was officially withdrawn on October 23, 2019.
https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/185691/Chan-Tong-kai-blacklisted-by-airlines-and-can%E2%80%99t-fly-to-Taiwan:-Peter-Koon
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Category: Hong Kong
