TWO Chinese, Su Ning (39) and Feng Guang Quan (51) have been sentenced to pay a total fine of 100m/- or go to jail for five years each for exporting Tanzanian currency notes worth 35m/- to China.
Senior Resident Magistrate Cyprian Mkeha
based at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam,
convicted aliens on their own plea of guilty of three counts, two
relating to exporting the currency and one of attempting to export the
money.
The prosecution had told the court that
the Chinese were involved in the transaction without permit of Governor
of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), as required under the Foreign Exchange
Act.
Magistrate Mkeha took into consideration
a number of factors, including the economic impact as a result of
conduct of the accused persons. Following the court’s verdict, each
Chinese would be required to pay 50m/- each or serve the custodian
sentence in default of paying the fine.
Since some of the money involved in
commission of the offences was not exported outside Tanzania and
considering that the two accused persons had shown repentance for what
they had done, the magistrate ordered 20m/- be returned to Ning, as was
his genuine money he had legally acquired.
Senior State Attorney Shadrack Kimaro,
assisted by State Attorney Estazia Wilson, for the prosecution, had told
the court that the two Chinese committed the offences on different
dates in 2015 and this year at Julius Nyerere International Airport
(JNIA) within Ilala District in the city.
The prosecution told the court that
between August 15 and 31, last year, at the airport, the two accused
persons transported to China 10,000 notes of five hundred denominations
each, all valued at 5m/-, without permission of the BoT Governor.
It was alleged that between December 22
and 31, last year at the same place, the two accused persons exported to
China 20,000 notes of five hundred denominations each valued at 10m/-,
without having a permit.
The court heard further that on March
15, this year, at the airport, the accused persons transported to China
40,000 notes of five denominations each worth 20m/-.
In his judgment, however, the magistrate
ruled out that facts presented by the prosecution could not support the
third count in relation to 40,000 notes, as there was no proof that
such amount was exported, including delivery of the goods to an
authorised officer.
The magistrate, however, convicted the
two of attempting to export the money in question, as there was proof of
an overt act, that is intention to export the current, that had been
committed by the accused persons
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