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| Chinese nationals arrested for caning workers. PHOTO | BMS |
Nairobi Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani has ordered four Chinese accused of caning their Kenyan workers to be detained for 15 days as investigations continue.
“Police have sought 21 days to complete investigations and the court has taken note of the decision of the High Court which is binding,” ruled Ms. Okwani.
In her ruling, the magistrate considered the bond application and a ruling by High Court judge Luka Kimaru which stated that the detention of accused persons without trial is unconstitutional.
Following reports of an incident doing rounds in sections of the press depicting a man of Asian descent assaulting a male employee said to be working at a hotel, this morning detectives from Kilimani raided Chez Wou Restaurant in Kileleshwa in pursuit of the matter. https://t.co/1Cjo0BHTGs— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) February 9, 2020
“The court has acknowledged the fact that the accused persons are a flight risk and will abscond court,” added the magistrate, in justifying detaining them for 15 days as opposed to the maximum 24 hours in Justice Kimaru’s precedence.
In the ruling, the court said that respondents are foreigners and will leave the jurisdiction if released.
Further, the magistrate ordered the police to provide a holding charge to enable the respondents to comply with bail pending investigations.
Detectives from Kilimani raided Chez Wou Restaurant in Kileleshwa on Sunday and arrested Deng Hailan, Chang Yueping, Ou Qiang and Yu Ling.
Eight Kenyans who work at the hotel were also picked for interrogation. Officials said Deng, who was caught on video canning the unnamed employee works at the hotel as a chef without a work permit.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in its twitter handle that Chang and Ou hold expired visas. Chang, however, has a work permit while Ou does not. Yu, a cashier at the hotel, has a visitor’s visa. He does not have a work permit. The suspects were taken to Kilimani Police Station.
