Put on bail, men disappeared; questions about cops
The St Ann’s Bay RM court was left puzzled as to how two male Chinese nationals who were on larceny charges managed to abscond and are believed to have travelled overseas though conditions of their bail should have prevented them from doing so.
The two are Zhu Ze Ling and Zhu Son Wu. They are before the court on larceny by trickery after it was alleged that the two fleeced a Chinese businessman in St Ann’s Bay US$70,000 in a cash for gold agreement.
The case arose out of allegations that Ling and Wu approached the complainant, a supermarket operator in St Ann’s Bay saying that they would sell him pieces of gold valuing US$70,000, or more than J$7 million. The men reportedly claimed that while working on the highway, they had dug up important gold artefacts and a title to land. The complainant reportedly paid over the agreed sum for precious metal and after receiving it and checks were made, it was revealed that the metal he received was not real gold.
The accused were given bail in the sum of $300,000.
In court on Thursday, August 7 Oswest Senior Smith who represents the defendants said that he was shocked to have realized that his clients have absconded bail when a part of the bail conditions was that they be placed under curfew and also surrender their travel documents.
DAILY REPORTING
“I can’t believe this breach has occurred and nobody from the Ocho Rios police station knew,” the attorney said.
He said that he would like to know how this could have occurred as the accused were to report to the police station daily and not to leave their house or be seen in the Ocho Rios area unless they were reporting to the station.
Even the police liaison officer said she could not give a reason as to how this could have occurred.
HAVE THEY GONE?
RM Andrea Thomas also weighed in on the issue saying that it: “If they (defendants) missed one day at the police station that should have put the police on alert.”
Thomas said that what she would really like to find out is whether the accused were still on the island or they had travelled overseas. She said that if they are in Jamaica then they could be easily identified because they are not in China.
A woman who stood surety for the accused said that she was the one who brought to the police’s attention that the Chinese had left their place of residence.
She said she was told that they had visited the station last on May 2 but they did not leave until May 5 when they signed out at the front desk at the apartment complex. She reported the matter to the police on May 7.
When RM Thomas asked about the whereabouts of the investigating officer, she was told by the police liaison officer that he had resigned. A bench warrant was ordered by Thomas who indicated that: “If there be any evidence of corruption then persons will be charged.”
