Two chinese men, Chen Gang, 47 and Zhao Weidong, 31, have been arraigned
at the Ebute Meta Magistrate’s Court, Lagos State, for allegedly
conspiring to rape a 20-year-old Nigerian lady.
The incident was said to have happened at Railway Compound in the Ebute
Meta area of Lagos. The men were said to be employees of a popular
Chiense construction firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Company.
Our correspondent learnt that
Chen Gang was the chief cook of the
company, while Chukwuemeka was his assistant. He was said to have made
several sexual overtures to the girl who ignored them.
When the pressures became much, Chukwuemeka was said to have reported the harassment to the policemen guarding the company.
Things came to a head on the night of September 15, 2013, when
Chukwuemeka, who was on a salary of N24,000 per month, was allegedly
lured into the store by Gang.
As the victim entered the store, thinking she was being sent on a
genuine assignment, she was said to have been followed by the defendant.
He allegedly locked the door and began to forcefully unbutton the 20-year-old dress and pull down her trousers.
The girl, however, began shouting, which drew the attention of people nearby, including the policemen.
The second defendant, Weidong, was said to have rushed to the store and
seized the girl’s phone. He allegedly dumped it in the toilet.
One of the policemen, however, ran after him and recovered the phone in the water closet.
Both men were arrested and arraigned on Wednesday on seven counts of
attempted rape, sexual harassment, indecent assault, perversion of
justice and willful damage of Chukwuemeka’s handset.
Gang and Weidong pleaded not guilty. The defence counsel, Fidelis
Osordi, pleaded that the accused be granted bail in liberal terms.
The magistrate admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of 100,000
with two responsible sureties who must be gainfully employed with
evidence of tax payment. The matter was adjourned till October 17.
No comments:
Post a Comment