The six Chinese immigrants who befriended then captured murder accused Nai Yin Xue in the United States have been officially commended by their local community.
Community leaders have presented the group with citations.
The heroes have also told ONE News about why they plan to give most
of their reward money to the three-year-old daughter Qian Xun Xue
who was abandoned by Xue at a Melbourne railway station.
Xue was deported to New Zealand and is charged with killing his
wife Anan Liu in Auckland last September.
The valiant vigilantes are already local heroes around Atlanta,
Georgia, after they brought the fugitive down in the nearby town of
Chamblee. But the so-called Chamblee six have now taken another
heroic step, which is making headlines around the world.
A simple meal in a simple apartment is all the group can afford. That's in spite of the $US10,000 ($NZ12,300) reward they earned for the capture of Xue.
Instead, most of the money is going to his daughter, the young girl innocently swept up in this international murder case.
"She loses the love from her mum and her dad. We are all parents we have our sons and daughters, we know what she is feeling," says Gui Sen Wu, one of the Chamblee six.
The Chamblee six became instant heroes when they captured Xue, who for five months had eluded authorities in New Zealand, Australia and throughout the United States.
It was his distinctive kung fu pose that they recognised from extensive media coverage.
They hogtied the fugitive using his own clothes and presented him to the US authorities.
"We do not see ourselves as heroes. What we have done, everyone else would have done the same thing," says Shun Li Dong another of the Chamblee Six.
Despite their reluctance, they have now been formally recognised, the five men and one woman presented with citations from Chamblee's mayor and chief of police.
It's almost fitting that at the same time, Xue was again facing the New Zealand justice system, leaving prison to make a brief appearance in the Auckland District Court for a hearing date to be set.
As this dramatic tale continues to unfold, the news of the reward money may well be one of the few good twists in what has so far been tragedy for the young orphan.
A spokesperson for Grace Xue, Qian Xun's half sister, says she is extremely pleased to hear the news and the money will be put to good use for the little girl's future years.
There is also the trust fund initiated by Grace, with $40,000 in it.
