Protestors oppose bail

Thursday morning was a bitter day. The cold wind was biting.

The sound of the gavel might have come as music to the ears of the accused, when the case was postponed, but to the 200 people fighting the morning chill, it was a solemn sound.

Employees, friends, family, and many others gathered at the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court, waving banners and chanting, “No bail! No bail!’ Their chants and presence was all to remember Xiaoming ‘Steven’ Zhang, a victim of what has been described as an execution-style killing on May 29. Mr Zhang was allegedly murdered while trying to calm armed robbers. He was shot twice in the head. Detective Sergeant Renesh Sewlal arrested the two men accused of murdering Mr Zhang, in Nongoma, just three days after the crime. Chairperson of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and municipal Councillor, Alex Liu, said business owners were concerned for their safety, as well as the safety of their employees.

“This crime was committed by employees and people are concerned. We want justice in this case in order to restore the confidence of employers, as well as restoring the relationships between them and their employees.” The suspects appeared in court on June 11, but one of their attorneys did not make it to the courthouse on time, and the case was subsequently postponed. Aside from the Chinese and Taiwanese communities, both local and foreign nationals have been vocal in their pleas for justice for Mr Zhang. In recent years, there has been an uncanny increase in crimes related to factory owners in Newcastle. A number of Chinese and Taiwanese factory owners have stared down the barrel of a gun more than once. Chinese businessman Jua Su, said: “In the past year, four factories have been robbed by armed men. I was also recently robbed by six men and they beat me and my wife before taking our money and fleeing.”

Incidents like these have impacted greatly on the economy of Newcastle and some factories have shut down due to increasing rates of crime.

With this reasoning in mind, and fear in their hearts, the people who gathered outside the courthouse will continue to plea to the court not to grant bail.