Three of five men accused of kidnapping a father and son in Nuku’alofa in July were released on strict bail conditions on Monday, September 2 at the Nuku'alofa Magistrate's Court.

The Deputy Police Commissioner ‘Unga Fa’aoa said the three Chinese accused De Feng Mo, Zhi Ning Chen and Rui Sheng Ma, charged with armed robbery and unlawful imprisonment, were released on a bail bond of $5,000 each until September 16.

He said a curfew was imposed between 6pm to 6am when they must remain at home. The accused must report to the police station once weekly, are prohibited from travelling and must not talk to Crown witnesses.

“If they breach any of these bail conditions they will be arrested and remanded in custody,” he said.

At the same time, two Tongan accused Sione Ngahe of Puke and Mana Latu of Patangata, charged in the same crime, were earlier bailed at the lower court on Friday, August 30 under normal bail conditions.

Allegation

The men are accused of kidnapping a father and son in Nuku’alofa on July 24, 2013 and taking a ransom of nearly half a million pa‘anga from their families.

The Police had earlier reported that a total of $400,000, in cheques and cash was paid by the relatives before the victims were released on the evening of Thursday, July 25.

The police executed an operation and arrested the accused at the ANZ Bank and confiscated two cheques amounting to $325,000 on July 26 but the cash balance was not recovered.