New Zealand to extradite murder suspect to China
Apr 15, 2022
Wellington [New Zealand], April 15 : In a landmark judgment, a New Zealand court on Wednesday granted China's extradition request for a murder suspect.
Chinese authorities accused Kyung Yup Kim, a South Korean citizen who has permanent residency in New Zealand, of killing a woman in Shanghai in 2009, according to court documents, reported CNN.
Kyung will be extradited to China to face trial following a more than a decade-long legal battle.
China first requested his extradition from New Zealand in 2011, but Kim's lawyers argued he could face torture and would not receive a fair trial under the country's murky judicial system, prompting years of legal wrangling, reported CNN.
Like many Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, New Zealand does not have an extradition treaty with China.
In its decision, New Zealand's Supreme Court ruled by three judges to two that Kim's extradition should proceed. The three judges in favour said they had received sufficient assurances from China and were "satisfied that there was no real risk Kim would face an unfair trial."
Chinese authorities had assured the court that if extradited, Kim would have access to New Zealand consular staff, and be tried and detained in Shanghai rather than sent elsewhere in the country, according to the ruling.
Kim has lived in New Zealand since he was 14 years old, according to court documents. His mother is also a New Zealand permanent resident, while his father, brother and two children are citizens.
The case against him dates back to December 2009, when a young woman who worked as a waitress at a bar was found dead in Shanghai, according to court documents. At the time, Kim was visiting Shanghai and had rented an apartment there, reported CNN.
Pieces of a quilt were found on her body -- which were identified by Kim's then-girlfriend as similar to one he owned. When police searched Kim's apartment, they found samples that matched the waitress' DNA.
In China, courts, prosecutors and police are overseen by the Chinese Communist Party's powerful Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and its local branches.
China's judicial system has a conviction rate of about 99 per cent, according to legal observers. Human rights advocates say unfair trials and the torture and mistreatment of prisoners are common, reported CNN.
