New Zealand blocks extradition of murder suspect Kyung Kim to China, claiming torture is ‘systemic’ and ‘widespread’

Kim, a Korean national who has lived in New Zealand for 30 years, is accused of murdering a 20-year-old Chinese woman while visiting Shanghai in 2009

Kim was arrested in New Zealand in 2011 and Beijing asked for his extradition after giving assurances he would not face the death penalty if convicted

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Kim was arrested in New Zealand in 2011 and Beijing asked for his extradition after giving assurances he would not face the death penalty if convicted. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:04pm, 11 Jun 2019Updated: 9:27pm, 11 Jun 2019

A New Zealand court stopped a murder suspect being extradited to China Tuesday, saying it could not send a suspect to a country where torture was “widespread” and “systemic”.

The Court of Appeal quashed a ministerial decision to extradite Kyung Kim to China, saying to do so when there was a risk he would be tortured breached New Zealand’s international obligations.

The 99-page judgment, which included a damning assessment of Beijing’s justice system, comes amid huge protests by Hong Kong residents against laws allowing extraditions to mainland China.

Kim’s lawyer Tony Ellis said the decision was a precedent-setting human rights victory.

“It is a judgment that has profound human rights importance which will resonate throughout the Common Law world, it is not just important in New Zealand,” he said in a statement.

Kim, a Korean national who has lived in New Zealand for 30 years, is accused of murdering 20-year-old Chinese woman Pei Yun Chen while he was visiting Shanghai in 2009.

Kim was arrested in New Zealand in 2011 and Beijing asked for his extradition after giving assurances that he would not face the death penalty if convicted.

After a lengthy legal process that included two ministerial reviews, New Zealand in 2015 decided to extradite him – the first time it had agreed to a suspect being sent to face trial in a Chinese court.