By Brenna Matendere
TWO Chinese nationals yesterday appeared before a Mvuma magistrate facing charges of kidnapping and assaulting a truck driver of a chrome mining company based in Lalapanzi.
Liu Minghe (31) and Guan Dafeng (32), who are jointly charged with their employee Tafadzwa Tsungano (33), were not asked to plead when they appeared before magistrate Loice Munjeri. They are charged for kidnapping, assault and malicious damage to property.
They were remanded out of custody on free bail to September 30 in order to allow the State to find a Chinese interpreter.
Prosecutor Michael Kazomba told the court that on the afternoon of September 7, the three blocked the way of the complainant, Efias Machipisa, along Mahamara Road in Lalapanzi.
They then proceeded to his truck and allegedly damaged its windows before dragging him out and forcefully taking him to their mining premises, SQ Need Company.
As the Chinese forcefully dragged the complainant out of his vehicle, he fell down headlong.
On arrival at their premises with the complainant, the Chinese allegedly tied his hands on his back and ordered him to lie down facing the ground.
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The Chinese and their Zimbabwean co-accused person then allegedly started assaulting Machipisa with clenched fists and booted feet accusing him of misappropriating their chrome ore.
The complainant is employed as a truck driver of a rival chrome mining company in Lalapanzi, Berkan-Fellmann Enterprises.
The matter was reported at Lalapansi Police Station under case number RRB 406305.
A medical report obtained at Muvonde Hospital in Lalapanzi detailing the injuries of the complainant as having suffered chest pains, head wounds, shoulder injuries and a fractured right leg as a result of the attacks by the three.
Pictures presented in court show that the Chinese, together with their Zimbabwean employee, maliciously damaged the truck which the complainant was driving before they kidnapped him.
One of the pictures showed blood-stained windows of the truck damaged by the Chinese nationals as they tried to forcefully drag the complaint out of the vehicle after he had locked himself inside.
The value of the damaged property was not ascertained during the initial remand proceedings yesterday.
