China had 53 suspects of economic crimes repatriated from abroad
in 2005 and is expecting the return of smuggling kingpin Lai
Changxing from Canada, the Ministry of Public Security said
Tuesday.
"Any criminal suspects fleeing to abroad and evading punishment
shall not succeed in the end," Wu Heping, spokesman for the
ministry, said at a news conference. "Justice is just a matter of
time."
He didn't confirm the date when Lai might be deported and turned
over to China, saying only the ministry "has noticed" that the
media are concerned about the recent developments of Lai's
case.
Lai was accused of being the mastermind of a criminal ring which
had conducted, in collaboration with corrupt officials in coastal
Xiamen City, the biggest smuggling operation uncovered in China
since 1949. The case involved US$10 billion. Lai fled to Canada
with his family in 1999. For years Lai has been trying to gain
refugee status in Canada.
To curb the trend of increasing number of criminal suspects
fleeing to abroad, Chinese police have strengthened cooperation
with foreign counterparts, and the efforts "have paid off," Gao
Feng, deputy director of the Economic Crime Investigation
Department of the ministry, said Tuesday.
"There are 800 suspects wanted for economic crimes on the run in
foreign countries, and over the years more than 320 Chinese
criminal suspects have been repatriated, who are accused of
embezzling nearly 70 billion yuan (US$875 million) worth of
property and funds," Gao said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2006)
