Taiwan nabs Chinese fugitive under cross-strait initiative
CNA
2015-04-25
The suspect, surnamed Zheng, captured by the police at the customs before he boarded a flight at Taoyuan International Airport, April 24. (Photo/China Times)
Taiwan's National Immigration Agency (NIA) announced Friday that a Chinese national who had been listed as a fugitive in Taiwan for committing real estate fraud had been arrested.
The April 22 arrest represents the latest result of the Agreement on Jointly Cracking Down on Crime and Mutual Legal Assistance Across the Strait inked between Taiwan and China in 2009.
The fugitive, surnamed Zheng, had once served as chair of a real estate development firm based in Xiangshan county in Zhejiang province.
The NIA said that after a project for the company to build 30 luxury houses went belly up, Zheng illegally sold the same housing units to multiple buyers and absconded to the US after amassing about US$14.6 million in ill-gotten gains.
However, after hiding out in Los Angeles for the past five years, Zheng could no longer resist the urge to get a taste of his beloved Zhejiang cuisine.
However, given his fugitive status in China, a visit back to his hometown was out of the question, so as a result, Zheng in 2013 chose to do the next best thing by coming to Taiwan.
Concurrently, shortly after Zheng's return from Taiwan to the US in 2013, the Chinese authorities alerted their Taiwanese counterparts of Zheng's fugitive status.
The NIA said that they were prepared this year when Zheng visited Taiwan again toward the end of March, and placed him under surveillance.
Zheng was arrested Wednesday as he entered the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport intending to catch a flight back to Los Angeles with his family.
Zheng told his wife to take care of their two children as he was being prepared to be sent back to China.
Zheng also said that although he was not aware of the cross-strait crime fighting agreement, over the past few years he was aware that his luck would run out eventually.
