Transfer of body-in-cement murder suspects could pave way for Hong Kong-Taiwan legal assistance pact
Senior Taiwan official tells Post of hopes for future cases as three male fugitives banned from returning to island
The unprecedented transfer of the three suspects wanted for the body-in-cement murder case could pave the way for a mutual legal assistance agreement between Taiwan and Hong Kong, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency told the Post yesterday.
“We certainly hope a mechanism could be set up as soon as possible but it is the administration that decides on such matters,” Hsu Chien-lin, chief of the agency’s public affairs division, told the Post, alluding to the existing mutual legal assistance agreement between Taiwan and the mainland.
Hsu said Taiwan authorities hoped the unofficial transfer of the fugitives wanted in Hong Kong could “set a precedent”, adding that “more international cooperation in this area is always better”.
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A formal mechanism for the transfer of fugitives involving police forces and more would be necessary in the long run, Hsu said.
He said speedier law enforcement action could have been possible in transferring the fugitives in this case had Hong Kong police also requested help from Taiwan’s immigration agency instead of only contacting the island’s police force.
A spokesman for Taiwan’s National Police Agency said it was merely enforcing immigration laws in this case and refused to elaborate.
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The unofficial transfer of fugitives on Tuesday was the first coordinated law enforcement effort of its kind between the two sides since the 1997 handover.
