Brutal message family of burned baby doesn't want to hear as China 'refuses' to send back alleged fugitive accused of coffee attack

Daily Mail​

20 hours ago

A former criminal investigator has warned the only way a Chinese man accused of throwing hot coffee on a baby in Queensland will ever be arrested is if he willingly returns to Australia.
Nine-month-old Luka had boiling hot coffee poured over him in Brisbane 's Hanlon Park on August 27 last year.
The man allegedly responsible poured an entire thermos on Luka before fleeing the country from Sydney to China, evading capture.
Ever since, Australian authorities have been urging China to return the unnamed 33-year-old for prosecution, but the requests have constantly been denied.
Chinese law dictates that no Chinese nationals can be extradited to face prosecution abroad for crimes allegedly committed overseas.
Michael Kennedy was a NSW detective who is now an adjunct professor at the University of Western Sydney and a senior lecturer in policing at the University of New England.
Professor Kennedy said there was little Queensland police could do to have the man accused of burning Luka returned to Australia.
'All the Queensland police can do in reality is take out an arrest warrant for this bloke, put him on the watch list for the airport and wait for him to come back,' Professor Kennedy told the Daily Mail.
'The reality is the guy's gone back to China and China isn't going to send him back here under any circumstances because they just don't do that.
'So all they can do in Queensland is put a brief together, put it in a file, take out a first instance warrant for the bloke so that if he comes back he'll be arrested, which he won't.'
Luka, who will turn two in October, is continuing his recovery. As the one-year anniversary of the attack approaches, police say they remain determined to find the man responsible.
Australian authorities have remained quiet on the fate of the alleged attacker but detectives have continued to refuse to confirm what options they have at their disposal.
That refusal of disclosure extends to what they may have offered their Chinese counterparts in exchange for handing over the man allegedly responsible.
Professor Kennedy said Australia could not successfully put pressure on China to extradite the man and it would not be a priority for the Chinese to turn him over.
'There's all sorts of factors,' he said. 'The major one is he's not here, he's in China.
'Secondly, to get him back we've got to have an extradition arrangement, which we don't.
'And and thirdly, you've got to convince the Chinese authorities it's in their interest to do it and yet in every second breath we're criticising China for their breaches of human rights.
'The problem is that in dealing with these things the government has to be careful they're not damaging other relations with China.'
If China were to facilitate one of its citizens facing an Australian court, Professor Kennedy did not think it would be for an alleged crime such as assault occasioning bodily harm.
'China's not going to send him back here for pouring coffee on someone,' he said.
'I doubt even if we had a good relationship with China that that's an offence that would require someone to be extradited.'
Professor Kennedy could not see the Australian Federal Police providing any useful help.
'It's a state-based crime,' he said. 'The federal police have no jurisdiction in this matter other than if they're going to extradite the bloke.'
Professor Kennedy also said despite CCTV allegedly capturing the attack and the man fleeing the scene there was no guarantee he would be convicted in an Australian court.
'We're assuming that CCTV can identify someone and it can't,' he said.
'CCTV is all very well and good but then you've got to prove that the person on the CCTV is the person that you're accusing.
'The big question at the end of it for an expert would be, is it possible, especially for someone who is Chinese, that this is someone else?
'And the expert has got no choice but to say, yes it is possible. There's your reasonable doubt.'
It is understood Queensland police have forwarded their detailed evidence against the man to Chinese authorities for their consideration.
Australian officers have said they were intent on 'finding a resolution to the matter', months after they were able to identify the suspect.
Luka's parents said he was still undergoing treatment.
'Luka still has to have regular surgeries, he gets laser and skin needling to reduce the appearance of the scars,' they told The Australian.
'The scars are on his chin, shoulder and a little bit on his back.
'But otherwise, he's healed really well and is thriving in life.'
The man was said to have approached Luka slowly before emptying his beverage and breaking into a sprint as he fled the scene.
Following his departure, the man is believed to have driven to Sydney and immediately boarded a flight out of the country on August 31.
Initially, Australian police provided the public with an incorrect name for the man and were unable to verify his true identity until he was already out of the country.
Chinese media reported the man had entered and exited Australia many times since 2019 - initially using a working holiday visa before later switching to a student visa.
Throughout that time, he lived in various locations on the east coast and worked in a meat processing plant.
But when his latest visa application was rejected, the man's frustration allegedly erupted in the coffee attack, Chinese media reported.
'Finally, he vented his anger and [allegedly] hurt a baby before leaving Australia,' reported China's New Tang Dynasty Television.
Investigators from the Queensland Police Service and the Australian Federal Police have been in contact with China over the man's whereabouts.