A 55-year-old man wanted in connection with a theft case was handed back to Hong Kong Police from Singapore on Thursday.

According to a government press release, the man was an agent of the victim in the purchase of sewing machine since 1992 in which he was authorized to withdraw and transfer funds from the victim's account.

In early 1996, victim discovered that a total of 852,000 US dollars was transferred from his bank account to the suspect's personal bank accounts without his knowledge.

The man was then found to have left for Singapore in February 1996.

In April 1999, a request was made to Singapore for the arrest and extradition of the fugitive. However, subsequent investigation revealed that the fugitive had been traveling in and out of Singapore using different passports.

Further investigations were conducted to clarify the identity of the fugitive and a formal request was made to extradite the fugitive in January 2005.

On Jan. 27, 2005, Singapore Police arrested the fugitive at the Changi Airport. Arrangements were then made to hand back the fugitive to Hong Kong Police on Thursday.

The man was subsequently charged with three counts of theft. He will appear in the Eastern Magistrates' Court on Friday.