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The man accused of murdering his wife before fleeing to Australia and dumping his three-year-old daughter at a Melbourne railway station is applying for bail this week.
Nai Yin Xue, 55, charged with murdering his wife An An Liu, 27 in Auckland in September last year, is due to stand trial next year.
Xue is expected to apply for bail on Tuesday so he can get a job to pay for his defence lawyer, Chris Comesky, the Sunday Star Times reported. He had been offered a job on an Auckland building site.
A "significant" legal aid payment was owed to Mr Comesky, who told the newspaper that he would stop working on the case if the amount was not paid when the bail hearing finishes.
Legal aid applications were generally determined within 14 days. Xue's trial date of June 2 was set in October.
A Legal Services Agency spokeswoman told the newspaper that Mr Comesky had not provided all the necessary information. The agency was understood to believe Xue had money in an overseas bank account, which he had denied.
Ms Liu's body was found in the boot of the family car outside their home in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill four days after Xue allegedly abandoned his daughter, Qian Xun Xue, in Melbourne.
He then flew to America, but was caught and extradited after an international police alert.
- NZPA