Jailed Chinese Taxi Pair Protest Innocence

Recently there was a news report that a Chinese murderer was arrested in China on October 12 and will be returned to Cambodia for trial.

The wife of another man arrested in Cambodia over a shooting on May 6, says her husband has not been released. She has tried all kinds of methods to free him and does not know what else she can do.

She told Chinese media that her husband Zhu came to work in Sihanoukville in April this year, and was employed as a taxi driver. On the day of the incident, the murderer called for a car and Zhu picked both the killer and his victim up.

Listening to their conversation, Zhu learned that the victim had borrowed money and was unable to pay it back.

In the car, the murderer asked Zhu to lock the door, but he did not dare to.  After a while, the killer and the victim scuffled in the car. Unexpectedly, the murderer took out a gun, and as the victim tried to run away he was shot in the head and kicked out of the car.

The source said that the murderer pointed a gun at Zhu’s head and told him to continue driving. The car got stuck in a traffic jam and the killer got out. Afraid, Zhu immediately drove to the taxi owner and they called the police together. As a result, both of them were mistaken for accomplices and have been locked up until now.

On October 12, the killer was arrested in China and media were told he will be returned to Cambodia for trial. But so far, he remains outside the country.

The wife said her husband had been detained for almost eight months. At first she couldn’t visit, but later could, but “I had to pay the entrance fee and tip every time. It cost the first 500 dollars.
In addition, all the food and drinks in, it cost money, and in a few months, nearly 40,000 US dollars have been spent.“

The source also said that the most important thing is that his human spirit has been destroyed.  “In the damp environment that breeds bacteria, his body is hurts and itches, and it is impossible to eat and sleep every day.
In addition, Zhu is also getting older, his blood pressure is getting higher and higher, his face is thin and yellow, and he looks like a sapwood.”

She said that her mother-in-law was in her eighties, and she washed her face with tears every day and was hospitalized many times. Their daughter did not even pass the school because of worries over her father’s troubles.

The wife left her house and went to Cambodia, but no one dared to take the case. “I spent 20,000 RMB ($2,840) in the first week, and even daily expenses became a problem. I borrowed a lot of money from relatives and friends and lived like a day every year. Later, I met a kind boss who paid me to work in his shop.”

She said that she had no other requirements now, but just wanted to know when her husband could come out and join with her and their family.
She also attached a readme letter from another arrested person (the taxi owner):

Owner Yang wrote in the letter that he came to Sihanoukville last October to engage in taxi and private car operation services and has always been doing legitimate business.

In the afternoon of the day of the incident, he and a Cambodian car seller tried to negotiate business in the yard after finishing a test drive. Then Zhu, the driver who rented his car, suddenly came, his face pale and in a panic. He informed him that one of the passengers he carried shot and killed another and then fled.

Yang said that at that time Zhu was so scared that he could not speak anything clearly, so they went to the police station to report the case together. At the police station, they cooperated with the investigation, and then the police identified the killer.

Yang wrote that for more than half a year in detention, they have been worse off every day than ever before. They are sick and almost hopeless.
Now that the killer has been arrested, he hopes that the relevant Cambodian authorities can intervene in the investigation and note their innocence so that they can leave prison. Yang promised that if he and Zhu had any relationship with the case, they would accept legal sanctions and would go to trial.

Regarding Zhu’s case, Cambodian.com (*Chinese source) contacted a lawyer familiar with Cambodian law. She said that such cases were more complicated. The Cambodian police and the courts all depend on specific evidence. 

There were drivers and murderers at the scene. The driver needs to prove that he is not an associate of the killer. It’s not as simple as we usually imagine. It’s not to say that we can let people go without any relationship. The key at this stage is how to prove that the driver and the killer are not associates. There have been many homicides in Sihanoukville, and the authorities are more sensitive. 

At present, perhaps all that can be done is to cooperate with relevant departments to investigate and wait for further news.