Yang Zhao, 26, remains in police custody at Kogarah until Thursday when he is due to be transported interstate by two police officers to appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court the following day.

Zhao was arrested on Monday at his Sydney home on a Queensland warrant for the murder of fellow Chinese national Qiong Yan after a body was found stuffed inside a metal box in Brisbane.

Police have confirmed 30-year-old Yan’s mother has identified jewellery found with the body, which was wrapped in a sheet inside the sealed box found on a unit’s balcony in Hamilton.

A formal forensic identification could take up to weeks, due to the body’s advanced state of decomposition, police say, and assistance from Interpol has been sought to obtain a DNA profile from Yan’s family.

Yan was reported missing to NSW police on April 12 and the body was found on Monday in relation to that investigation.

Queensland police confirmed on Wednesday that investigations are ongoing and safety protocols are in place for transporting prisoners.

Detective Inspector Tim Trezise on Tuesday acknowledged Sydney’s coronavirus lockdown complicated the extradition, but said there would be a secure isolation cell where Zhao could be held, after being tested for COVID-19.
“It is my understanding that the police who accompany him will also have to go into 14 days’ isolation when they come back as well,” he told reporters.

Police also say a family liaison officer will remain in contact with Yan’s family.