A CONVICTED rapist says he will fight being deported back to the UK to face justice after claiming his mum is terminally ill.

Joseph Tsang, of Littlemore, appeared in a Hong Kong court on Saturday having been arrested on Friday following more than a month on the run.

The amateur ice skater had fled the country in August before his trial for raping a 15-year-old girl in Hampshire – for which he was convicted in his absence.

He had already been found guilty at Oxford Crown Court in January of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

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After sparking an international manhunt, he was tracked down to Hong Kong and arrested.

He appeared at Eastern Magistrates’ Court in the city on Saturday.

During the hearing, his lawyer Oliver Davies claimed Tsang desperately wanted to go back to Hong Kong as his mother, who has lung cancer, was very ill.

Tsang said his mother’s condition had deteriorated and she might not have long to live.

He asked for bail so he could accompany his mother in the last stage of her life.

Following his court case in January, Tsang had been forced to surrender his UK passport, but it then emerged the 31-year-old had dual nationality.

His lawyer revealed Tsang was able to enter Hong Kong legally using his identity card.

Thames Valley Police has so far not said why this was also not seized following his conviction at the start of the year.

It is also unclear how Tsang managed to remove his electronic tag, another condition of his bail set by Oxford Crown Court in January.

Contrary to media reports, Mr Davies said Tsang was living openly at his parents’ house in the city and had been stopped by police last week for an identity check, but nothing happened to him.

Tsang said he was willing to pay about £8,500 and report to a police station everyday but was refused bail by the magistrate.

His lawyer indicated Tsang would challenge the extradition order, which could take up to two years to process.

The case has been adjourned to November 23 so the prosecution can prepare for the extradition hearing.

The Oxford Brookes graduate, who worked as a computer technician, first stood trial at Oxford Crown Court in January when he was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl at her house in 2012.

Tsang appeared in person for the trial, where he admitted he was sexually attracted to the girl and said she spent a night with him in his bed, but insisted nothing inappropriate happened between them.

The jury found him guilty of causing or inciting a female under 16 years to engage in sexual activity, sexual activity with a child under 16 years and making indecent images of children.

In the second case, the jury heard Tsang groomed another girl in 2011 after meeting her at an ice skating competition. The girl said she added Tsang as a friend on Facebook and they got to know each other, then in December that year Tsang drove her to a hotel where he raped her twice.

Tsang, who claimed to have previously worked for Oxford City Council, was found guilty in his absence of two counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault by penetration by a majority verdict.