TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is considering an appeal after a court in Scotland ruled Thursday (June 6) that British businessman Zain Dean should not be extradited to Taiwan to serve the remainder of his four-year prison sentence for killing a newspaper delivery man in a drunk driving accident.
The high-profile case started in March 2010, with the death of a 31-year-old motorcyclist hit by Dean’s car. The businessman later claimed someone else had been driving, but the court did not accept his version of events and sentenced him to four years in jail in July 2017.
However, the following month, he used a passport supplied by a friend to flee the country and eventually surfaced again in Scotland.
In October 2013, Taiwan and Great Britain signed a Memorandum of Understanding which led to Dean’s detention the following day and two-and-a-half years in a Scottish prison before his release on bail.
Over the past five years, Dean’s case and Taiwan’s attempts to have him extradited have wound their way through the British legal system, with each side appealing against unfavorable verdicts.
In the latest round, Scotland’s High Court ruled June 6 that Dean should not be returned to Taiwan.
MOFA expressed regret about the new verdict, but said it would consult the Ministry of Justice and ask the Taiwanese office in Edinburgh to work closely with prosecutors and see if an appeal could be lodged, the Central News Agency reported.
Source Taiwan News
