China's most-wanted fugitive, Lai Changxing, took part in illegal gambling and loan sharking activities in 2009 in this west coast city, a Canadian police officer testified Monday.

Detective Constable James Fisher made the allegations at a hearing to determine whether Lai -- whose case has become an international scandal as he fights to avoid deportation to China on July 25 -- should be detained until his case is settled.

Fisher said an unnamed police source accused Lai of handling betting money at an illegal gambling house in the nearby suburb of Richmond, where computer terminals connected local players to Baccarat games in a casino in Macau.

The officer also testified that Lai arranged for services such as meals by a private chef, massages, and introductions to a loan shark. The house, said Fisher, was frequented by known members of Asian criminal gangs, and noted the gangs have also been known to arrange for false passports.

Lai's lawyer Darryl Larson is scheduled to cross-examine Fisher on Tuesday. But speaking to reporters after the hearing, Larson asked why police did not act earlier on the two-year-old information, which he called hearsay because the unnamed police source cannot be cross-examined.

The hearing, in which Lai participated via video that showed him handcuffed and sitting in a locked room in a jail, "is a bit of a dog and pony show, to try and reassure the Chinese that the (Canadian) government is trying to do something," Larson told AFP.

The case has soured trade and diplomatic relations between China and Canada since Lai and his family fled to Canada in 1999.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who is visiting China this week, said in a media conference call from Beijing that there is no link between his visit and the timing of Lai's scheduled deportation. He said he had warned China not to count on it "being overly expeditious," and added that neither China nor Canada "have a lot of time for white-collar fraudsters."

Chinese authorities allege that Lai, a one-time laborer, was the kingpin of a crime ring in Fujian province that smuggled US$6 billion worth of goods. His case has soured trade and diplomatic relations between China and Canada since Lai and his family fled here in 1999, and later launched a bid for refugee status.

Canadian efforts to deport him have been blocked by the independent courts and Immigration and Refugee Board, after human rights lawyers argued that Lai would risk being tortured or killed in China.

Canada does not use capital punishment, and prohibits the return of alleged criminals to countries where they might be put to death.

China made an unusual diplomatic promise not to sentence him to death if he is convicted on any charges, and earlier this year also said Canadian observers could watch any trial in China and visit him in jail.

A so-called Pre-Removal Risk assessment early this month determined that Lai is not at risk and cleared his deportation. He was immediately detained.

His lawyers are now fighting in the courts and before the immigration board against both that determination of risk and Lai's detention.

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