Chinese Arrest Belgrade Hit-and-Run Suspect

Marko Milicev, 33, from Belgrade, has been arrested in China after fleeing the country following a killing of 21-year-old Luka Jovanovic, who was hit by a car on July 25 on Branko's Bridge in Belgrade.

Nebojsa Stefanovic, the interior minister, said Milicev was arrested on a warrant that Serbia issued after his Chinese visa expired.

Police said Milicev left Serbia for Turkey on August 10, and moved on to Hong Kong on August 13 before reaching China on August 15.

"Serbia will launch an extradition procedure and I expect that, in a few days or weeks at most, he will be in the hands of the Serbian police and judiciary," Stefanovic said on Monday.

He added that extradition would be prompt, although Serbia and China have not signed an extradition agreement.

"Thanks to China's good will, I think this will be done faster than regular procedures would take," Stefanovic said.

Surveillance camera footage showed that suspect Milicev hit Jovanovic with his black Mini Countryman on the night of July 25 and then drove off.

Milicev is a convicted criminal who has already served three years in jail in Germany, officials said, although the offence for which he was imprisoned was not specified.

Police allege that he is part of an organised criminal group involved in dealing drugs in Belgrade's Zvezdara neighbourhood.

Police arrested six other people who were under investigation for aiding Milicev after the crime.

The death of Jovanovic generated widespread media attention after his family held daily protests on the bridge where he was hit by the car, urging police to find the killer.

Many ordinary Belgraders also joined the protests to show solidarity with the family.