Chinese national placed on bond for wounding

Ming Ping He, a 21-year-old Chinese national who resides in St Vincent and the Grenadines, was on Tuesday, September 1, placed on a bond at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, after being found guilty of wounding a man.

Magistrate Carla James found He guilty of the offence, and placed him on a six-month bond in the sum of $1,000, or spend three months in jail.{{more}}

During the trial, Giles Francois said that on February 24, 2014, he went into a store next to Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) on Upper Bay Street to look for a chip for his cellular phone.

“He [defendant] came to me and told me he was selling pipe. I told him that not all dread man ah Rasta man, and not all Rasta smokes,” Francois testified.

Francois said he continued walking about the store when He asked to search his bag, and accused him of stealing a juke box from one of the shelves.

“He tried to prevent me from going outside and wanted to pull my bag away. I told him to let his security guard come and search it or get a police officer.

“He continue to hold onto to me and bite my finger. After that now, another Chiney [Chinese] lady come and jump on my back, and both of them began beating me,” Francois recalled.

According to Francois, he managed to get away from them and then emptied the contents of his bag just outside the store.

“It was a propaganda spreading against me and it’s only because I don’t have the financial standings why this is being so. It’s just a matter of morals for me,” Francois said.

In his testimony, the defendant admitted to the court that he had held on to Francois after he thought that he removed the juke box from the shelf.

He said that he had asked Francois if he removed the item, after which he said that Francois had said no.

“I didn’t believe him. I asked to search his bag. He going give me bag and when I going to take it, he pulled it back.

“He was going out and I pull him in and he slap me and I bite him… Everybody think Chinese people can fight, but I can’t fight,” He said, causing an eruption of laughter in the courtroom.

The defendant told the court that on closer inspection, he realized that the juke box had not been stolen, but that it had fallen to the ground.

He added that people are always stealing from the store.

The defendant made it clear that he holds no grudges against Rastafarians, since a lot of them frequent the store to purchase smoking pipes.

Attorney Arthur Williams appeared on his behalf.

Sergeant Elgin Richards was the prosecutor in the matter. (KW)