-
Related
A fugitive is in jail in the United States six months after fleeing New Zealand.
Nai Yin Xue is wanted as a suspect for the murder of his wife in Auckland and for abandoning his three-year-old daughter at a Melbourne train station.
Life on the run ended in an apartment in Chamblee, Georgia when Xue's own people turned him in after getting suspicious, interrogating him and tying him up.
"We wanted to push him hard...we wanted to give him no place to hide," chief inspector Tom Hession said.
A very proud group of Chinese residents caught the self-proclaimed martial arts expert after making friends with Xue when he was staying at a hostel where he called himself Mr Tongue.
"Mr Chan pushed him down to the ground, we grabbed his arms and then we found some bed covers and tried to tie him up," they said.
One of the group saw Xue's wanted photo in a Chinese newspaper.
"They had to take some other actions that we don't advocate for a normal citizen to take but the Chinese community throughout this investigation stepped up. They provided information, came forward with who to talk to...can't say enough about them," Hession said.
The residents had been to the police before but it seems their message was lost in translation so they decided to take matters into their own hands, coaxing Xue round for a meeting.
"We are very happy because we were alert about Mr Xue and we caught him, yes we feel very proud," they said.
The story hit the headlines when three-year-old Qian Xun was left abandoned in a Melbourne train station. Days later Auckland police announced a grizzly find - Qian Xun's mother An An Liu was dead and her body stuffed into the boot of Xue's car which was sitting outside the family home in Mt Roskill.
A major man hunt began for Xue in Los Angeles Chinatown but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. His image and details of his dumped daughter and dead wife were broadcast to millions on the TV show America's Most Wanted.
Later there were sightings in Mississippi and Alabama and the arrest follows two close shaves with Highway Patrol Officers and a near miss at a convenience store. Police say he tried to evade them to the end.
"The man had apparently tried to alter his appearance by shaving his head, shaving his moustache and putting on weight," Lieutenant Steve Harris said.
"When we arrived we were presented with a copy of the newspaper article that had the picture of gentleman on it. The man was subdued quite nicely on the ground...the man originally denied who he was...we had reason to hold on to him so we brought him up to jail and positively identified him as man with the warrant."
For US authorities the job is finished and Xue is in custody in a US county jail.
New Zealand police are delighted with the arrest and their job is now to bring him home to face charges for the murder of his wife.
"We've waited five months...we can wait," detective Senior Sergeant Scott says.
That wait could be up to 45 days or even longer if Xue appeals. Scott says they have already prepared most of the documents and are happy to wait for it come together.
