[ad_1]
New Zealand Police / Supplied
Biao Zhang, 29, was being wanted by the police from June 2018 to November 2019.
A Chinese tourist who disappeared from a tour group in 2018 turned himself in to police after evading immigration for more than a year.
Police alerted the public to the student’s disappearance in July 2018, but by then the 29-year-old had already been missing for a month.
Zhang had arrived in New Zealand on June 14, 2018 as part of a tour group and was last seen at the Surrey Hotel in Gray Lynn six days later.
He told his roommate that he was going out for a smoke and a drink and disappeared into the night. The next day, one of the Travelmore tour guides reported that Zhang had disappeared.
READ MORE:
* Police ask for help finding a missing tourist in Auckland for almost a month
* Mystery of the Chinese tourist Biao Zhang who disappeared a year ago in Auckland.
* Police concerned about the safety and well-being of the tourist who has not been seen in more than a month
At the time, Senior Sheriff Graeme Bruges said Zhang was believed to speak “limited English” and had no known contacts in New Zealand.
Zhang had entered the country on a visitor visa for five weeks, which expired while he was missing.
In November 2019, Zhang showed up at the Auckland City Police Center, accompanied by a police liaison officer from the Chinese embassy, and told the police that he wanted to return to China.
Documents released under the Official Information Act (OIA) showed that Zhang told police that someone from China had arranged his trip to New Zealand and his subsequent disappearance.
He said that he had never met the person and that all communication was through the WeChat social media app, which he had removed.
Biao Zhang sightings
GOOGLE MAPS / Supplied
The only reported sighting of Biao Zhang during her disappearance was at Epsom Badminton Hall.
During the time that Zhang was considered a missing person, there was little information about where he may have been.
In June 2019, police said that two women alleged they saw Zhang at Epsom Badminton Hall.
The women said that they recognized Zhang’s face as they had seen it on the news.
In the following days, the police visited the room, but could not find Zhang.
Research in China
A Chinese police liaison officer in New Zealand made inquiries about Zhang’s whereabouts in China.
Zhang’s parents, who lived in Anshan City, were visited by the police and said that Zhang had returned to China and was working in another city.
Police were unable to find any records of Zhang’s entry into the country, and after searching for Zhang, his parents admitted that he was working for a construction site in Christchurch, New Zealand.
An address was searched in Christchurch, but nothing was found.
GOOGLE MAPS / Supplied
Zhang’s family and friends told police that he had been living at an address on Oldwood St in Bishopdale, Christchurch.
There were no more sightings of Zhang reported to the police or immigration, until he showed up at the police station himself.
They gave him a notice of arrest and transferred him to Immigration NZ.
A spokesperson for Immigration NZ said that Zhang left New Zealand in November 2019.
