Extradition treaty between SARs to be signed this year

Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung was convicted in Macau

The upcoming extradition treaty between Macau and Hong Kong along with a mutual legal assistance agreement will be signed this year, the director of the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, Chu Lam Lam, declared in a written reply to lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang.
Once the treaty comes into effect, fugitives who take refuge in one of the SARs to avoid punishment in the other city will be returned. The mutual legal assistance scheme will allow for the collection and exchange of information on criminal matters.
Chu said that Hong Kong and Macau have reached a consensus and will complete negotiations this year with the signing of both agreements.
Meanwhile, the first round of negotiations on the mutual legal assistance and extradition agreements between Macau and mainland China was conducted in Beijing in February. It is expected that a second round of negotiations will be launched in the first half of this year, with the aim of implementing the relevant works at this point.
In a written enquiry issued last February, lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang requested from the government an update on negotiations between Macau and Hong Kong on the topic of the surrender of fugitives, as well as for the signing of a mutual legal assistance scheme with the mainland.  CP