Hong Kong: Murder suspect who sparked protests to surrender in Taiwan

Chief executive Carrie Lam reportedly claimed that she had received a letter from Chan Tong-kai, who is suspected to have killed his girlfriend in Taiwan and whose controversial case helped ignite the city's protest movement. The letter from Chan reportedly claims that he wants to voluntarily surrender himself in Taiwan. He is jailed in Hong Kong on money laundering charges and is due to be released this week. However, he is wanted by Taiwan as he was not sent back to face charges because of the lack of an extradition agreement.

A government statement revealed on October 18 said, “Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau has today received a letter issued by the Hong Kong Police Force, relaying Chan’s decision to surrender himself to Taiwan. The letter also conveyed that the authority of Hong Kong would assist Chan in relevant arrangements, and provide the necessary and legally feasible assistance to Taiwan on this matter,”

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Pro-democracy movement

The provisional secretary-general of the Angelic church, Reverend Peter Koon has been reportedly visiting Chan weekly in jail. Koon claims that the 20-year-old has converted to Christianity in prison and apologizes for causing so much trouble in Hong Kong. Lam told a radio programme that Chan's decision to surrender to Taiwan was a relief. The historic protests that expanded into a wider pro-democracy movement are still roiling the city even though the extradition bill has been scrapped. 

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While speaking to an international media outlet, Lam stated that these protests have caused a problem for authorities for quite some time now and have often turned into something violent and have caused damage to both people and property. Carrie Lam was supposed to deliver a speech in a recent parliament session, a first since it was suspended due to the protesters who were fighting against the extradition bill that sent convicts to mainland China for their respective trials.

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(With AP inputs)