Article published: Monday May 25, 2009
Relative questioned over Kiwi fugitives
A relative who was travelling with cashed-up Kiwi fugitives who skipped the country after an accidental bank windfall has returned to New Zealand and into the hands of questioning police.
New Zealand police have confirmed an unnamed relative who was with the pair in Hong Kong arrived at Auckland Airport on Monday and was being questioned by detectives.
Relative questioned over Kiwi fugitives
A relative who was travelling with cashed-up Kiwi fugitives who skipped the country after an accidental bank windfall has returned to New Zealand and into the hands of questioning police.
New Zealand police have confirmed an unnamed relative who was with the pair in Hong Kong arrived at Auckland Airport on Monday and was being questioned by detectives.
The couple, Leo Gao, 29, and Kara Yang, 30, remain at large almost three weeks after they left the country with $NZ3.8 million ($A3 million) accidentally credited to Gao by Westpac Bank.
The banking error, in which a decimal point was misplaced, amounted to a windfall for cash-strapped Gao, the owner of a failed service station in the tourist town of Rotorua that went into receivership this month.
Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey said the couple had fled to Hong Kong with the money and urged them to return home. "This pair still have families in New Zealand and at some stage they may want to return to see them," Harvey said. He said police would make a formal request to the Chinese government for help to find the pair. "The fact that we are taking this step shows how seriously we are taking this investigation," Harvey said.
The identity of the returned relative has not been revealed but the pair was believed to be travelling with Yang's younger sister, Aroha. Yang's seven-year-old daughter Leena was also accompanying them. Gao's mother and business partner are still unaccounted for. Legal experts say, if caught, the fugitives could face charges of obtaining by deception and money laundering.
Meanwhile, a private investigator says the pair are courting capture with phone calls and internet updates. Bruce Couper, a former detective and now managing director of Risq NZ, said the fugitives had given too much information to police by sending out Facebook updates and calling relatives.
The banking error, in which a decimal point was misplaced, amounted to a windfall for cash-strapped Gao, the owner of a failed service station in the tourist town of Rotorua that went into receivership this month.
Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey said the couple had fled to Hong Kong with the money and urged them to return home. "This pair still have families in New Zealand and at some stage they may want to return to see them," Harvey said. He said police would make a formal request to the Chinese government for help to find the pair. "The fact that we are taking this step shows how seriously we are taking this investigation," Harvey said.
The identity of the returned relative has not been revealed but the pair was believed to be travelling with Yang's younger sister, Aroha. Yang's seven-year-old daughter Leena was also accompanying them. Gao's mother and business partner are still unaccounted for. Legal experts say, if caught, the fugitives could face charges of obtaining by deception and money laundering.
Meanwhile, a private investigator says the pair are courting capture with phone calls and internet updates. Bruce Couper, a former detective and now managing director of Risq NZ, said the fugitives had given too much information to police by sending out Facebook updates and calling relatives.
"They're obviously amateurs, opportunists who have made a terrible error in judgment without any real plan of how to pull in off," Couper said. "They've given so much away. At this rate it will be just a matter of days before they're caught with the amount of information they're giving away." He said the pair would be wise to give themselves up immediately, "to limit the damage of this whole mess". New Zealand police are liaising with Interpol as part of an international manhunt for the pair.
Yang has posted updates on the social networking site Facebook saying she's drinking beer and loving the 30-degree heat. Meanwhile, the female bank employee who mistakenly credited the money is having counselling to help her deal with the consequences of the mistake. Westpac spokesman Craig Dowling said errors were made by several staff members and checking procedures were being reviewed.
Yang has posted updates on the social networking site Facebook saying she's drinking beer and loving the 30-degree heat. Meanwhile, the female bank employee who mistakenly credited the money is having counselling to help her deal with the consequences of the mistake. Westpac spokesman Craig Dowling said errors were made by several staff members and checking procedures were being reviewed.
"What should be remembered is that the loss to date from this episode did not happen because of the error but because of the behaviour of individuals who have taken advantage of the error," Dowling said.
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