The murder trial of the man accused of stabbing Auckland taxi driver Hiren Mohini to death last year is causing controversy even before it has started.
First, New Zealand legal experts are feeling “insulted” the trial will not be held in Auckland where the murder took place in Mt Eden a year ago this month, but in China, where the suspect fled to after the alleged killing.
Instead, Chinese authorities have said the accused, Zhen Xiao, will stand trial in Shanghai, despite Mr Mohini being killed in Auckland.
It is believed to be the first time that a person accused of committing murder in New Zealand will stand trial in another country.
Second, New Zealand has been given formal written confirmation that Zhen would not face the death penalty if found guilty.
As New Zealand police await the arrival of Chinese authorities, a legal academic said this week that shifting a murder trial was an "insult to the jurisdiction" of New Zealand.
Associate Professor Bill Hodge of the University of Auckland said criminal proceedings have taken place in the country where the crime was committed for hundreds of years.
"To me, it is an insult to the jurisdiction of New Zealand."
Prof Hodge told the NZ Herald New Zealand, as a sovereign nation, had a responsibility to Mr Mohini's widow and two daughters to deliver justice.
"That is the duty of a sovereign. They've done their best but they cannot deliver justice to that woman and her two children and that is the regret."
He said if Zhen was to stand trial in China, then he should be tried under New Zealand law as it was at the time the murder happened.
Chinese authorities are to travel to New Zealand to gather evidence on the murder.
Mr Mohini died of multiple stab wounds in Mt Eden last January after picking up a fare in the CBD.
A police manhunt ended nearly six months later when Zhen was arrested by authorities in China.
New Zealand and China do not have an extradition treaty. It was not yet known if New Zealand witnesses would be required by the Chinese authorities.
Zhen will be tried under China's inquisitory criminal trial system, in which a judge will ask questions of the witnesses and reach a verdict on the evidence.