Hong Kong protests: murder suspect at centre of extradition bill crisis will surrender to Taiwan authorities ‘once borders reopen’

Priest supporting Chan Tong-kai sets out timetable for the Hongkonger to hand himself in as promised

Hong Kong government held up Chan’s case as key justification for extradition bill, which sparked city’s anti-government protests

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Hong Kong resident Chan Tong-kai, pictured with Reverend Canon Peter Koon, was released from jail last October on money-laundering charges. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:14pm, 21 Sep 2020Updated: 7:25pm, 21 Sep 2020

A murder suspect whose case triggered Hong Kong’s extradition bill crisis will hand himself over to the Taiwan authorities once borders between the two jurisdictions have reopened, according to the priest supporting him.

Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming also said on Monday that he would travel ahead to Taiwan when the coronavirus situation improved to help lay the groundwork for Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai’s plan to submit to the self-ruled island’s justice system.

Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the February 2018 killing of his pregnant girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing, in Taipei. Aged 20 at the time, Chan returned to Hong Kong after her death, and was jailed for related money-laundering offences.

But he could not be sent back to face murder charges because of the lack of an extradition deal between the two jurisdictions.

Chan’s case was held up by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor as a key justification for her now-withdrawn extradition bill, which last year sparked months of anti-government protests.

Koon, a top Anglican priest who had been visiting Chan in jail, revealed last October that the suspect had offered to turn himself in. But the plan was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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