Sending suspect to China could cost New Zealand millions

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Sending a murder suspect to face trial in China could end up costing New Zealand taxpayers millions of dollars because officials would need to post an extra diplomat to Shanghai to monitor his treatment, documents exclusively obtained by The Associated Press show. But the documents also show that New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta is confident Chinese authorities won’t torture the suspect or give him an unfair trial because of the bad publicity it would bring the Communist regime, in what would amount to a test case that would be closely watched worldwide. New Zealand’s Supreme Court in April ruled that Kyung Yup Kim could be extradited to China in a landmark judgment that goes against the trend set by most democratic nations.