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Chinese man appears in court on charges of murdering wife

A Chinese man appeared on Monday in a New Zealand court charged with murdering his wife, in a case that sprang to global attention when he abandoned their young daughter at a railway station.

Pictures of the three-year-old crying by a station escalator in Melbourne, Australia, triggered an international hunt for Xue Naiyin (薛乃印) after he was seen by security cameras hurrying away for a US-bound flight.

He was traced to the US and, after nearly six months on the run, returned to New Zealand earlier on Monday to face court.

Xue, 53, landed at Auckland's international airport in handcuffs and guarded by four US immigration officers following his capture in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 28.

He had fled New Zealand in September after allegedly killing his wife Annie Liu (劉安安), 27, whose body was found in the trunk of a car outside their Auckland home.

He then flew to Melbourne with his daughter, Xue Qianxun (薛千尋), who was abandoned at the station while he caught a flight to Los Angeles.

The newspaper publisher and self-styled martial arts expert was formally charged with murder shortly after arriving back in New Zealand.

In a brief appearance at an Auckland court, he stood impassive in the dock as Judge Eddie Paul remanded him in custody to reappear on March 19.

Xue's time on the run in the US ended when he was recognized by members of the Chinese community in the Chamblee district of Atlanta. His case had been extensively publicized in the Chinese language media in the US as well as on the America's Most Wanted TV show.

The Chinese bound his hands and tied his trousers around his ankles to hold him until police arrived.

His daughter Qianxun now lives with her maternal grandmother in China.
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