Eight months after Xioming ‘Steven’ Zhang was killed in cold blood, the Chinese community is still seeking justice.
Mr Zhang was fatally shot in May last year by two men at his clothing factory.
The two suspects initially intended to rob the factory, and Mr Zhang fully cooperated with them until he was gunned down.
The perpetrators fled the scene, leaving Mr Zhang’s traumatised wife, Linda Wu, and his staff to deal with the tragedy.
The suspects were arrested on June 2.
Since their arrest, court proceedings have been prolonged and Chinese residents were fearing the suspects would be released.
“The court case was supposed to have continued on Monday, February 15, and we were told to be at the Madadeni High Court before 9.15 am,” said Andrew Chen, a representative of the Chinese community.
However, when he went to court with fellow Chinese residents and Mrs Wu, their waiting was futile.
“At about 2pm, we went in and were told that one of the men’s lawyers was not present and the case would have to be postponed until the following day, Tuesday, February 16.”
Amy Cheung, another representative from the Chinese community, said she went to court with Mrs Wu the following day, but it proved to be another pointless day.
“We were luckier than the previous day, as we only waited for half an hour before we went into court, but we were told the actual court proceedings would only be conducted in June at the Dundee Court,” Mrs Cheung said.
Upset about the delays, Mrs Cheung and Mr Chen hoped justice would eventually prevail.
“We hope they will be sentenced to life imprisonment, but we are worried the men would be released as the court proceedings are taking so long,” Mr Chen said.
He said the delay was not fair on Mr Zhang’s wife.
“Mrs Zhang was left to run a business with a staff complement of 100 people, and she can’t be expected to go to court the whole time. It just feels like the law is not there to punish criminals, but rather the family.”
Mrs Cheung thought prolonging the case was giving the murder suspects a second chance.
“None of this is fair as no one gave Xioming a second chance to live, and yet criminals are being protected. Why do good people not get a second chance, but criminals do?” she asked.
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