Police said Thursday convicted former Legislator Kuo Ting-tsai will be repatriated from China later in the day to serve his prison term for corruption during his tenure as speaker of the Pingtung County Council in southern Taiwan. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chung said at a news conference that Kuo was arrested at a hideout in Zhongshan City in southern China's Guangdong Province Wednesday. Staff members from the NPA's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CBI) already traveled to China to take Kuo back home, Wang said. 'Chinese authorities informed us immediately after Kuo's arrest,' Wang said, adding that Kuo's repatriation was the fruit of an agreement between Taiwan and China in April last year on judicial assistance and cooperation in fighting crime. 'Thanks to increased cross-strait exchanges, Chinese authorities have agreed to help locate and repatriate notorious Taiwanese fugitives hiding on the mainland,' Wang said. According to CBI officials, Kuo's arrival time has been delayed from this afternoon to midnight because of difficulties getting flight seats as many Taiwanese businessmen operating in the Guangdong area are coming home to cast their ballots in the weekend municipal elections. Kuo has been listed as one of Taiwan's most wanted criminals at large since he fled Taiwan on a flight from Kaohsiung International Airport in February 2005 after losing a legislative reelection bid. He was later reported to be hiding in southern China's Guangdong Province. The 74-year-old was convicted of taking bribe and breach of trust in an urban land rezoning scandal in the early 1990s when he was head of the Pingtung County Council and was sentenced to seven years and two months behind bars. In addition, Kuo was convicted of having embezzled funds during his tenure as head of a credit cooperative in the county's Donggang Township between 1996 and 1999 and was given another 7.5-year prison sentence. The Pingtung District Prosecutors Office said Thursday Kuo has to stay behind bars for 14 years and eight months for his two sentences. 'Following his return, he will be sent to a prison in Kaohsiung county's Yanchao Township to serve his time,' said a prosecutor. Local judicial sources said Kuo's repatriation could be seen as a sign of China's intention to speed up implementation of the cross-strait judicial assistance accord 18 months after its signing. Kuo's arrest is also said to be an indication of how China will deal with Taiwan's request for repatriation of other most wanted criminals, including Chen You-hau, Ho Chih-hui, Chu An-hsiung, Wang Yu-yun, Liun Sung-fan and Tseng cheng- jen. 