Chinese student missing

Police say they're baffled by the disappearance in Burnaby last week of a 21-year-old international student from Beijing.

Amanda Zhao

Wei Amanda Zhao was last seen by her boyfriend more than a week ago when she left their Burnaby basement suite for a short trip to the store, just six blocks away.

With the recent increase in attacks on international students, Zhao's boyfriend Ang Li is worried and blaming himself.

He says he offered her a ride, but she told him to stay home and finish his homework. "It's my fault," he says."It's my fault I didn't accompany her to the Safeway."

Earlier that same day, a group of men attempted to abduct a Korean woman just a few kilometres away.

With all the recent concern about the safety of international students, there are questions about why it took a week for the young woman's disappearance to be made public.

Li says he was under the impression he had to wait 24 hours before calling police.

RCMP Constable Phil Reid says once Li did phone, there was an internal paper flow problem at the Burnaby detachment office.

"It should have been on my desk and it didn't reach my desk, and therefore it didn't go out right away," he says. "We were wrong. We messed up there."