KEY POINTS:
A Canadian hit-and-run driver who killed a New Zealand doctor in front of his daughter in Vancouver last year will now remain in jail until his sentencing next month, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
Xiao "Sean" Zhang, 21, was arrested in Toronto last week after a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest was issued when he failed to show up for a court appearance in Vancouver earlier this month.
Zhang ran over Dr David Higgins, 51, of Tauranga, on a pedestrian crossing in June last year and left him dying on the street, his young daughter Sian beside him.
Zhang was caught after witnesses chased him and alerted police.
He pled guilty to dangerous driving causing death and failure to stop at the scene of an accident, but fled instead of appearing in a Vancouver court for sentencing on March 5.
Now a judge has decided Zhang will now remain in custody until he's sentenced on April 13 on the original charges, the CBC reported.
He is now facing an additional charge for failing to appear in court. That matter will be dealt with separately.
Dr Higgins, voted Tauranga's best GP in 2004, had been on sabbatical leave and was visiting his parents in Vancouver with his daughters Sian and Kari.
- NZPA
