Two Chinese men were charged in a New Zealand court on Wednesday in connection with the death of 19-year-old Chinese student, Wan Biao, five days ago.

 

The victim's body was found in a suitcase that had been dumped in Auckland's Waitemata Harbor on Friday.

 

One of the accused has been charged with murder. He is also charged with kidnapping. The second man has been accused of being an accessory to the murder.

 

Both men are 21 years old. One is a student and the other is said to be unemployed.

 

The accused made a brief appearance in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday morning. The charges were read to them through an interpreter.

 

The court has ordered that their identities be withheld.

 

Police believe that the accused held Wan Biao to ransom and demanded that the victim's parents in China pay four million yuan (about US$500,000) for their son's release.

 

Detective Inspector Bernie Hollewand said that video camera recordings and "good police work" led to their arrest.

 

Hollewand said that kidnapping "may have been one of the motives," but he held that "a simple kidnapping motive is not consistent with the preparations and the actions of the conspirators."

 

The ransom call to the family was "a very incomplete demand", Hollewand added.

 

He also said that there was no evidence of any association with known Chinese gangs.

 

Both men were remanded in custody and are due to reappear in court at the end of June.

 

Police said that Wan's parents in China were notified of their son's death and were "devastated". They are reportedly making arrangements to travel to New Zealand.

 

Wan arrived in New Zealand from China last August and studied English at Oxford International Academy.

 

News of Wan's murder has hogged headlines in New Zealand, and locals and Chinese have expressed their sympathies.

 

Oxford International Academy dean of studies Michelle Mason agreed with a police assessment that Wan was a "quiet and studious" person.

 

Most of Wan's schoolmates are on holiday this week. But those who were around were shocked by the news and would be helped by a grief counselor, she said.

 

Chief Executive of Education New Zealand Robert Stevens said Wan Biao's death was "sad, tragic". But he added that he believed it was an "isolated case".

 

Stevens told Xinhua on Tuesday: "The number of incidents involving international students are minimal considering their population in New Zealand."

 

"And we would like the parents, including the Chinese parents, to be sure that New Zealand is still one of the safest destinations globally for international students."

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2006)