By Linny Folau
Three men were found guilty on charges including serious housebreaking and unlawful imprisonment of another man, when they took him by force from his home at Sopu to Kahana Resort on Tongatapu because of a disputed loan of $150,000. One of the defendants was armed with a knife.
Lin Xiu Ming (51), Ming Jing Wang (38) and Keren Zeng (48) were convicted by Magistrate Tu’akalau on 5 November, at the Magistrate's Court in Fasi. Their victims were a couple, Liu Fu Min (46) and his wife Liu Qian Yan.
The Prosecution’s summary of facts revealed that on 4 October 2023 at around 9:30pm, Liu Fu Min and Liu Qian Yan (Qian) were at their home at the Little India compound in Sopu when they heard knocking at their door. When Qian opened the door, the defendants burst through the door and Lin Xiu Ming grabbed Qian by the hair and slapped her face.
The defendants asked Qian where Fu was and she did not respond. Xiu and Keren Zeng then went to Fu’s bedroom and punched him while Keren held a knife to his throat. Keren then threatened Fu and Qian with the knife to cooperate, while threatening that he would be stabbed.
A neighbour of the victims was at her home when she heard the commotion from the victim’s home. She saw the defendants leading Fu into their car with a knife to his neck. Qian went to the manager of Little India, and informed her of what happened to Fu and the matter was reported to the Police.
On their way to Kahana Resort, Ming Jing Wang and Keren repeatedly punched Fu to his head. Upon reaching Kahana, Xiu and Keren took Fu out of the vehicle and punched him to the face then took him to a resting area at Kahana to talk.
Hospital
On 5 October 2023, Fu was examined at the Vaiola Hospital and the examining doctor confirmed that Fu sustained soft tissue injuries due to blunt force trauma. The injuries included abrasions on the back of his neck, bruising behind his head; superficial lacerations on the left side of his neck; abrasions on the right shoulder and a small superficial wound on the back of his right forearm.
The defendants did not cooperate with the Police and chose to remain silent. They had no no previous convictions except for Lin Xiu Ming who has a previous conviction for unlawful possession of drugs utensils in 2013, where he received a suspended 10 months imprisonment, stated the Prosecution.
Court
The lower court heard from the evidence of the two victims.
The three accused did not give evidence or call any witnesses during the trial in October.
Magistrate Tu’akalau in his written ruling accepted the evidence that on 4 October 2023 at around 9:30pm, the victims were at their home in Sopu. They heard a knock on the door and Qian opened the door slightly to see who it was, the accused men pushed the door open.
Qian’s evidence stated that one of the defendants' pulled her hair and pushed her to the side but did not know who of the three did this. They then went inside the house and asked where her husband was. She did not answer them so they went into the bedroom, he stated.
Moreover, this evidence was not disputed by the defendants that it was them who entered his home on this night, which was not consented to by the victims. Liu also gave evidence that Keren Zeng and Lin Xiu Ming had also punched him in his home in Sopu, which was not disputed by the two.
The three then took the complainant in their vehicle to Kahana. The victim's evidence was that as they drove to Kahana, Lin Xiu Jing and Keren Zheng repeatedly punched his head, and when they reached their destination, the two took him out of the vehicle and punched him again before taking him inside.
They then sat on a sofa with the complainant sat opposite them and they talked about the money that was borrowed by the complainant from Lin Xiu Ming, which was around $150,000, which had not been paid by the complainant. However, there was no agreement about this loan between the two parties, he added.
The Magistrate stated that the victim testified that he was taken by force to Kahana because he was threatened with a knife by Keren Zeng. He agreed to go with them because he was afraid.
“After hearing the evidence from the prosecution, the cross examination of the defence side did not affect the evidence of the complainants. In addition, the defence was not clear on what was their defence was in its submissions.”
The Magistrate ruled that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt the three charges of serious housebreaking, unlawful imprisonment and common assault against Lin Xiu Ming. He was acquitted on two other counts of common assault. In addition, Ming was found guilty of serious housebreaking and unlawful imprisonment.
Keren Zeng was found guilty on five counts of serious housebreaking, unlawful imprisonment and three common assault charges.
The maximum sentence for serious housebreaking is imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, for common assault is a fine not more than $5000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both. For unlawful imprisonment, the maximum sentence is a fine not exceeding $5,000 pa’anga or imprisonment not exceeding one year.
The men will be sentenced on 29 November.
