EXTRADITION FIGHT WITH OZ DRAGS ON

Canadian held in jail here for 6 years on heroin charge

Chuck Sun Lau has been locked up in a Canadian jail for more than six
years as he fights extradition to Australia on heroin-smuggling charges.

After his latest bail hearing in B.C. Court of Appeal last week, the
40-year-old Canadian, who immigrated from China 23 years ago, was led
back to a jail cell to await a judge's decision on whether he should
be released into the arms of his two young sons, his mother and his
78-year-old father while he fights extradition.

Lau is wanted in Australia on a charge of importing 48 kilograms of
heroin, but the extradition hearing is bogged down in legal arguments
that could take at least another year.

At the centre of the case is a dispute over whether Lau escaped lawful
custody in Australia 81/2 years ago.

An extradition judge last year found an indication of bad faith on the
part of Australian authorities, who backed out of an immunity deal
with Lau after he co-operated with their investigation.

Lau was arrested in Perth on Sept. 12, 1994, after handing over 48
kilograms of heroin to an undercover agent.

Faced with the possibility of spending the rest of his life in jail,
Lau agreed to the immunity deal and fingered three crewmen on board a
freighter.

After they pleaded guilty, the Australian Federal Police reneged on
their deal with Lau.

Lau was still in custody on March 27, 1995, in a Perth court-house and
awaiting a fix-date hearing, when he disappeared before a date could
be set.

The Aussies insist he escaped. Lau says he was allowed to walk away.
He has never explained how he got back to Canada without the usual
travel documents.

Lau went back to work at a sister's restaurant and returned to his
former life at home, the address of which was listed on the B.C.
driver's licence he surrendered to Aussie cops.

Australian authorities charged him with escaping, but did not pursue
him -- until Vancouver police arrested him at their request on June
28, 1997. He has been in jail ever since.

Federal prosecutor Kenneth Yule, acting for Australia, last week urged
B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Kenneth Smith to keep Lau in custody,
citing the risk of flight.

Yule said the heroin, which was destined for Vancouver, had a value of
$5.6 million "at the kilogram level," and that the sum would be
"stratospheric" when cut into street-level doses.

Yule said two of Lau's co-accused received stiff sentences -- 221/2
years with no parole for 13 years for one man and 241/2 years and no
parole for 16 years for the other.

Lau's lawyer, David St. Pierre, denied he is a flight
risk.

His parents, two sons and five sisters all live in Canada, said St.
Pierre, adding that Lau's wife abandoned the family and returned to
China years ago.

Outside court, Lau's mother Mei King Lee, 69, rode herd on the two
rambunctious boys, aged eight and nine.

In sign language, she explained that the boys are running her ragged,
pointing to her heart while wearing a painful smile.

St. Pierre told the judge that the children "are not doing very well
at school," adding that Lau could be a positive influence on their
ability to learn English if he were allowed to go home.