A RAPIST who fled to Asia to avoid justice has finally been captured in Hong Kong after an international manhunt.

Joseph Tsang, of Littlemore, was arrested yesterday at about 1.30pm UK time by Hong Kong police after being on the run for more than a month.

But it could be up to two years before he is sentenced for his 10 convictions at Oxford Crown Court as he waits to be deported.

Tsang, 31, fled the country after being found guilty at Oxford Crown Court at the beginning of the year of assaulting a 14-year-old girl .

The amateur ice skater, of Sandy Lane, was then convicted in his absence of raping a 15-year-old girl at a hotel in Hampshire at the same court in August.

Despite being electronically tagged and surrendering his UK passport, it is believed Tsang had dual nationality and was able to slip through the police net.

Last night deputy local policing area commander for Oxford John Turner thanked the public and media for their assistance in helping capture Tsang.

He added: “We would also like to thank all the partner agencies we have worked alongside during this investigation including the Crown Prosecution Service, Hampshire Constabulary, the National Crime Agency, the Hong Kong Police, the Hong Kong Crown Prosecution Service, Interpol and UK Immigration.”

Following Tsang’s disappearance from the country, Oxford’s detective chief inspector Katy Barrow-Grint said she was frustrated by the court’s decision to grant him bail following his first conviction.

DCI Barrow-Grint also warned Tsang was a “high-risk” sex offender who posed a risk to the public.

Thames Valley Police seized his UK passport, but Tsang was still able to flee and was believed to have headed to Hong Kong where his sister and family live.

Tsang, an 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.

He told the court: “I didn’t see anything harmful to it. I didn’t predict two years later I would be in court.”

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

In the second case, the jury heard Tsang groomed another girl in 2011 who he met 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.

He is due to appear at Eastern Magistrates’ Court in Hong Kong today. Thames Valley Police said the deportation process could take between eight weeks and two years.