The Ministry of Justice on Thursday said that it would continue to work with its counterparts in Scotland for the extradition of Zain Dean — who fled Taiwan in 2012 after being convicted of killing a man in a hit-and-run — following an Edinburgh court’s decision on Thursday to grant Dean’s release on bail.
Following a decision by the Edinburgh Sheriff Court to free Dean on condition of surrendering his passport, the ministry issued a statement reaffirming its efforts to extradite Dean and to provide Scotland’s judiciary body with any information regarding the case.
Ministry officials said that the court’s decision to release Dean was a separate matter from Taiwan’s appeal for extradition, for which the Edinburgh court is to hold a hearing on Oct. 20.
Photo: CNA
Dean was convicted by the Taiwan High Court and sentenced to four years imprisonment in July 2012 after being found guilty of hitting and killing newspaper deliveryman Huang Chun-teh (黃俊德) with a car.
Police said Dean was driving under the influence of alcohol and hit Huang’s motorcycle from behind on a Taipei road in March 2010, with Huang thrown more than 100m from the point of impact.
Huang’s death left his family facing financial hardship, because Huang was the sole wage earner, working two jobs.
Dean was to begin serving his sentence in 2012, but he fled the country in August that year using a friend’s passport to board an outbound flight at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
He was arrested in the UK in October 2013 and was detained, one day after Taiwan and the UK signed a memorandum of understanding on the extradition of people convicted of crimes in Taiwan.
On Sept. 23, the Scottish High Court of Justiciary ruled that Dean should not be extradited to Taiwan to serve his sentence.
The ruling overturned a previous finding by the Edinburgh Sheriff Court in June 2014 that Dean should be extradited.
Taiwan’s Representative to the UK David Lin (林永樂) said he regretted the latest ruling, but said that the government would not give up and would continue efforts to have Dean extradited.
The victim’s father, Huang Kuo-an (黃國安), 71, said after the ruling not to extradite Dean: “It’s a heavy blow to my heart to hear this. I have given up any hope of seeing justice served in this case.”
Huang Kuo-an said the proceedings brought back painful memories of his son’s death and since his wife passed away three years ago, he is all alone with no life purpose and only wishes he could be free from the heartache.
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