Three Chinese nationals in Lilongwe have been sentenced to six years in prison for trafficking two Malawian women on the pretext of marriage.
The convicts, Zhang Yan Qing, Zhou Yan Hu, and Mian Mian Chen(a lady), were sentenced on Tuesday February 20, 2024 before Principal Resident Magistrate’s Court.
According to State Prosecutor Senior Superintendent Louis Makiyi, the first two convicts illegally married the victims, who are aged 20 and 22, last year in March.
When they got to Kamuzu International Airport bound for China, the trio was netted after police were tipped.
In court, they pleaded not guilty to trafficking in person charges, prompting the State to unleash its five witnesses.
Prosecutor Makiyi argued for a lengthy sentence saying the accused took advantage of the victims’ poverty to lure them into China for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
But through their lawyer, Qing, who doesn’t have both arms, prayed for leniency on the grounds of his disability.
Passing sentence, Principal Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe quashed Qing’s mitigation, saying disability shouldn’t be used as a tool to break the laws.
Michongwe further said the accused were well organized in their criminal enterprise, by posing as husbands while it was all their intention to exploit the victims in China.
He went on to slap the three with a six year prison sentence.
Meanwhile, Malawi Police Service has vowed to bring all perpetrators of crimes to justice while protecting the citizenry.
