A man will be charged on Monday in connection with the murder of a woman in Hong Kong 27 years ago after he was handed over to Hong Kong police by the Chinese mainland authorities at Shenzhen Bay Port on Saturday.

The attack occurred early on Sept 22, 1999.  The victim – a 40-year-old woman surnamed Ho – was tending to her newsstand on Tai Po Road, Sham Shui Po District when three knife-wielding men emerged from a car and stabbed her before fleeing. She died from severe bleeding.

Superintendent Gar Kam-lam of the Hong Kong Police Force’s crime unit at West Kowloon headquarters said on Sunday the 54-year-old suspect, surnamed Lin, is believed to have recruited the assailants and arranged for a car to take them to the scene.

The suspect has been laid with a holding charge on one count of murder. The case will be mentioned at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Monday morning.

The police had obtained information about the suspect that he was in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and sought assistance from the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department. He was arrested on Friday and taken to Hong Kong on Saturday.

“We’ve sufficient evidence and kept reviewing the case, enabling us to detain him,” Gar said.

ALSO READ: Shatin bank robbery suspect handed over to HK police

Hong Kong had detained six other men, aged 25 to 50, from 2005 to 2010 in connection with the case. Five of them were subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court, while the other was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years.

An eighth suspect, who’s believed to have supplied the weapons used in the killing, as well as the vehicle, is still at large. “We know his identity, but we can’t disclose too much at this stage. We’ll try our best to bring him to justice as soon as possible,” Gar said.

Hong Kong police have gone to great lengths in tracking down the fugitives although the crime occurred 27 years ago. “We’re grateful for the help of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau and relevant departments, resulting in the suspect’s arrest,” Gar said.

He said law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong and on the mainland will deal with any serious crime, and the suspect’s arrest demonstrated the determination of law enforcement agencies on both sides to combat crime and uphold the rule of law.