THREE Chinese nationals, who were arrested by the police recently in connection with kidnapping their colleague, appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam yesterday facing two criminal charges.
They are Chen Chuw Bao (34), Wang Yong
Jian (37) and Zheng Pa Jin, alias Mr Ping (40), who are accused of
kidnapping and causing grievous harm to a female, Liu Hong (48), who
allegedly works at Le Grande Casino.
The accused persons are alleged to have
demanded a ransom of 19,000 US dollars from her relatives in China. Bao
pleaded guilty to both counts, while Jian admitted the kidnapping charge
only, but Jin denied all the counts.
Principal Resident Magistrate Cyprian
Mkeha, who is hearing the matter, ordered the trio to remain in custody
until November 14, when the accused persons would respond to an
affidavit presented by the prosecution, led by Senior State Attorney
Hellen Moshi, objecting them to be granted bail.
The prosecution told the court that on
October 23, this year, at Palm Beach area in Ilala District, the accused
persons kidnapped Ms Hong in order to dispose her, putting her in
danger of being murdered. It was alleged further that on the same day
and place, the accused persons beat the victim thereby causing her to
suffer grievous bodily harm on her different parts of her body.
When objecting bail, the prosecution
submitted the affidavit sworn by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)
Salum Ndalama, who is police officer working as Regional Crime
Investigation Officer incharge dealing with criminal investigation
matters within Ilala Police Region in the city.
According to SSP Ndalama, the accused
persons are from China, who are all jobless and without a permanent
address and place of aboard in Tanzania. He stated that information
gathered through investigations of the case suggested that the accused
persons and others not before the court, were still planning to involve
in criminal activities of kidnapping, torture and blackmailing in the
city.
SPP Ndalama stated that he had reliable
information that the accused persons, and others not yet arrested were
still planning to harm the victim in order to destroy evidence in the
case which is pending.
He stated that investigations were still
underway and, thus, if the accused persons were bailed out, chances are
that they would likely interfere with the process and the arrest of
other suspects allegedly connected with the crime.
The information he had gathered through
investigations into the matter, he stated, indicated that other Chinese
who are relatives of the victim were planning to revenge against the
actions of the accused persons by causing them actual bodily harm if
they get chances.
“It the best interest of the republic
for the accused persons to remain in custody till the completion of the
case so as to protect the safety of the victim, smooth investigation
process and safety of the accused persons,” SSP Ndalama stated.
The Dar es Salaam Special Zone
Commissioner of Police (CP), Simon Sirro, was quoted as saying that the
kidnapping incident occurred on October 23 this year, in the morning at
the Casino, which is located on Samora Avenue in the city.
He said that investigation of the police
discovered that the kidnappers were hiding themselves in Palm Beach
hotel and demanding a ransom of Yen 100,000 equivalent to 19,000 US
dollars to release the victim.
“In October 24 in the evening, police
through the cyber crime unit went to the Palm Beach hotel at Upanga in
the city and discovered that the suspects were hiding in room number 9,
where they knocked the door but the suspects refused to open,” he told a
press conference.
According to him, police decided to
break the door and suddenly one of the suspects, Wang Young Jing, opened
the door that is how the police got into the room and found another
Chinese man and a woman who had been kidnapped.
She had lost her consciousness from the
beatings she got and had been wounded in the face. CP Sirro further
explained that in the hotel room that was rented by Chen Chuw Bao the
police found two pieces of towels with blood, plastic ropes and a
syringe.
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