Police defend actions

The man arrested in the death of a baby never went to see the RCMP as advised.

Vancouver Police Chief Bruce Chambers says his officers did nothing wrong
when they sent a gang member telling them a story about a major drug deal
off to the RCMP.

He never did tell his story to the RCMP. Two days later, Wing Fu Hau would
be arrested in the death of a fivemonthold baby he says he killed in
order to gain police protection.

Hau, a member of the Big Circle Boys gang, said in jailhouse interview with
a CBC reporter this week that he told Vancouver city police he feared for
his life when he came to see them Oct. 7.

But police maintain he did not raise concerns about his safety during the
meeting.

"I can assure you there was nothing that left us with the impression that
his life was at risk. We would have dealt with that," Chambers said Wednesday.

He said Hau's information about a drug deal was referred to the RCMP, as
that agency usually investigates cases involving large amounts of drugs.

Hau also told the CBC reporter that an unidentified police officer was
involved in drug deals, but Chambers said he will not investigate the
accusation because Hau alluded to an RCMP officer.

"There has been no allegation from him that members of the Vancouver police
department were involved in any type of corruption," Chambers said.

RCMP Sergeant Russ Grabb said Mounties are "very aggressively" pursuing
Hau's allegation, even though they don't know for certain if he was
pointing a finger at an RCMP or city police officer.

Vancouver police said that when Hau visited them Oct. 7, he and his lawyer
were given an address for the RCMP, and city police called the Mounties to
advise them of the case.

"It was large quantities, international in perspective, and most
appropriately dealt with at their [RCMP] level," Chambers said.

Grabb said the RCMP left a message with Hau's lawyer on Oct. 9, two days
after Hau went to see the city police, but didn't hear back. He said
Mounties didn't contact Hau earlier because they had to conduct background
checks and find a Cantonesespeaking officer.

"There was no information to support the conclusion that this was urgent
and needed immediate action," Grabb added.

Police will not reveal details of Hau's drug deal information.

Both RCMP and city officers have tried to speak with Hau about his
allegations, but he has refused to speak with either police agency. "We met
with a total lack of cooperation," Constable Anne Drennan said.

Drennan added that Hau didn't raise the corruption complaint when he came
to see Vancouver city police Oct. 7 two days before the murder of
fivemonthold Shu Hin Wong.

Hau, who doesn't speak English, appeared to be talking about a Mountie
during the interview with the CBC's Broadcast One, but his statements were
often unclear because of the use of an interpreter.

"The delivery of his message on camera [was] very confusing and very
convoluted," Grabb added.

In the CBC interview Hau claimed an officer had been selling him heroin for
two years.

He said the officer turned on him and told the government Hau had 50
kilograms of heroin in his house.

The 34yearold man, who was ordered deported back to his native China last
year, is in the Vancouver pretrial centre.

He was charged with seconddegree murder after the baby was strangled and
then hit by a car.

The baby's father, Yung Ming Wong, who is believed to be in China, is a
highranking member of the Big Circle Boys and is Hau's crime boss.

Hau said he killed the baby because he wanted to be put in jail to fend off
Wong, who he feared was setting him up for a drug bust and planned to
murder him.