The five men accused of kidnapping a father and son in Nuku’alofa in July, were granted extended bail to appear at the Nuku’alofa Magistrate’s Court on Monday, September 30.

The Magistrate's Court office in Nuku'alofa stated the bail was extended from September 16.

The three Chinese accused De Feng Mo, Zhi Ning Chen and Rui Sheng Ma, who are charged with armed robbery and unlawful imprisonment, were released on strict bail conditions on September  2. This included a bail bond of $5,000 each, a curfew between 6pm to 6am when they must remain at home, and must report to the police station once weekly.

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

Allegation

The men are accused of kidnapping the Chinese 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 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.