BURNABY (NEWS1130) – Ten years after a 21-year-old international student living in the Lower Mainland was killed, a Chinese court has sentenced her then-boyfriend to life in prison for murder.

Amanda Zhao and Ang Li, 18, were living together in an apartment in Burnaby while she was taking English classes at Coquitlam College.

Zhao’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase at Stave Lake in October, 2002. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled.

The NDP’s Jenny Kwan has been speaking for Zhao’s parents, who say in a statement that even though justice has been served, they’ll never get to see their daughter achieve her many dreams.

“It has been 10 years; we’ve thought about our daughter every day. We feel the pain of losing her every moment. Our hearts are bleeding,” reads Kwan.

A few days after Zhao was killed, Li had flown back to China, even though the RCMP had identified him as a person of interest in the case. Canadian investigators approved a second degree murder charge but China insisted on holding Li’s trial in Beijing.

We’re told Li plans to appeal his sentence. He has also been ordered to reimburse Zhao’s parents for things like funeral and travel expenses.

Kwan is calling for stronger international agreements. Speaking for Zhao’s family, Kwan says there needs to be a better plan should a future killer flee the country.

“For too long, our federal government said it was not in their jurisdiction and the provincial government said it’s not in their jurisdiction,” says Kwan. “The family had no where to go to find out who was going to be responsible in pursuing the accused.”

“We can not drop the ball on things like that,” she adds. “Hopefully, with this unprecedented approach in terms of co-operation, we can actually set a path for the future should such a tragic and horrible event ever happen again for any other family. This type of delay will never take place again.”

Mounties fought to have Li extradited back to Canada, but gave in when Chinese prosecutors agreed to waive the death penalty.

Li was finally arrested and charged in 2009. He had been living with his parents at a military compound.