Retired Canadian police officer refuses to testify at Meng Wanzhou’s extradition hearing
- Ben Chang, a former RCMP staff sergeant, has retained outside counsel and been advised not to appear – ‘a matter of some concern’, Meng’s lawyers say
- Court hears that the Huawei chief financial officer may still be a permanent Canadian resident – despite her attempt to relinquish that status 18 years ago
A retired Canadian police officer is refusing to testify at Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou’s extradition hearing in Vancouver, amid claims by Meng’s lawyers that Canadian authorities were involved in a covert evidence-gathering exercise against her at the behest of American law enforcement.
Ben Chang, a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) staff sergeant, has retained outside counsel and has been advised not to appear at the hearings, which resumed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on Monday, Meng’s lead counsel Richard Peck told Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes.
The refusal was a “matter of some concern”, Peck said.
Chang was involved in email conversations with Sherri Onks, the legal attaché in Vancouver for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, on December 1, 2018, the day of Meng’s arrest, according to Meng’s lawyers.
Chang also received a phone call from “a Chinese minister” following Meng’s arrest, Meng’s lawyers say.
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Trudeau rejects releasing Meng Wanzhou to free detained Canadians in China
Also on Monday, the court heard that Meng may still be a permanent resident of Canada – despite her attempt to relinquish that status 18 years ago.