A Vancouver MP says she’s outraged a man convicted in the death of an international student in B.C. two decades ago is trying to claim refugee status in New Zealand.
Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan has penned a letter to the federal government calling on it to engage with New Zealand immigration officials and ensure they’re fully aware of Ang Li’s criminal history.
Li was convicted by a Chinese court a decade ago in the death of 21-year-old Amanda Zhao, who had come to Canada to study English in 2002.
Zhao’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase near Stave Lake in Mission, B.C., after she disappeared. Li, her boyfriend, fled to China before he could be charged in the case.
Chinese authorities refused to extradite him to Canada, but he stood trial in China and was convicted of first-degree murder in 2012. In 2014, his conviction was reduced to a crime similar to manslaughter and his sentence cut to seven years.
The New Zealand Herald now reports that Li is seeking refugee status after entering the country on a passport with a false name and birthdate, and even claimed that Zhao is “still alive and walking around somewhere.”
“This is an outrageous claim and it’s absolutely disgraceful. The truth of the matter is Amanda was murdered, her body was stuffed into a suitcase and dumped into the lake,” Kwan said Monday.
“This is hurtful. It shows he has zero remorse, zero regret with what has happened.”
Kwan said there is no question that Zhao was killed, and that Canadian and Chinese officials had both confirmed her identity using DNA.
She said Zhao’s family had reached out to her and is pleading for Canada to set the record straight.
“They are outraged and saying he is lying. He is saying Amanda is alive, and that is simply untrue,” she said.
The Chinese court also ordered Li to pay Zaho’s family $250,000 in damages, money Kwan said was never paid.
Kwan said she has spoken to federal Justice Minister David Lametti about the matter.
She said Canada should not interfere in New Zealand’s internal processes, but should ensure officials in the country are operating with the most accurate information possible.
According to the Herald‘s report, Li — who now calls himself Jiaming “Leo” Li — has been living in Auckland for the past five years with his wife and two children, after his release from prison in China.
Li claimed he would face persecution if returned to China over support for Tibet, and alleged the Zhao accusations were a “political setup” by the Chinese Communist Party.
The Herald reports that New Zealand immigration officials denied Li’s initial refugee claim, but that he has appealed that decision.
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“Mr. Li has provided false, evolving, inconsistent and contradictory evidence to NZ authorities since his first arrival to the country,” Immigration NZ told the NZ Herald.
“What can be surmised is that Mr. Li is of changeable character and accustomed to performance and deception.”
Zhao disappeared from the North Burnaby basement apartment she shared with Li and his cousin in October 2002.
Li was the one who reported her missing, and at the time claimed she had vanished while walking to a grocery store.
But 11 days later, hikers found her body in a suitcase near Stave Lake. Investigators later determined she had been strangled.
Li fled to China shortly afterward prompting an international legal ordeal.
He was eventually charged in Canada, but China refused to extradite him.
Eventually the two countries reached an agreement under which the RCMP would provide critical evidence, and China pledged not to implement the death penalty.
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