Second Chinese man denied bail

ANOTHER Chinese man has been denied bail by the Court of Appeal.

Fu Qiang Yan, a director of Jamlong casino in Curepe, who was charged in January with money laundering, was denied bail on Thursday by a Master of the High Court.

He appealed, but Justices of Appeal Alice Yorke-Soo Hon, Prakash Moosai and Mark Mohammed held that the Master was correct to find that he was a flight risk.

Quiang Yan was arrested in January 2017, and charged with illegal gambling. A large quantity of money – TT and US currency, Euros, Canadian dollars and British pounds – were recovered by police.

The money was confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and although Quiang Yan was eventually cleared of the illegal gambling charge, and the confiscation order expired in January, he was subsequently charged with money laundering.

Mohammed, who delivered the court’s ruling, said there were substantial ground for believing Quiang Yan would abscond if granted bail, especially since the penalty for money laundering was a $25 million fine and a 15-year jail term.

He said the court was not satisfied he had strong social ties to TT, especially since he has been in the country for seven years and was under supervision by the Immigration Department; was renting the premises where Jamlong was located; and had the capacity to obtain large amounts of liquid cash. The judge also considered Chinese extradition laws, which do not allow for the extradition of its nationals,

Mohammed said Quiang Yan's failure to produce a work permit when arrested showed a disregard for TT’s legal processes, while the substantial fine and jail term for the offence of money laundering was an incentive to abscond.

Earlier this month, the judges also denied bail to another Chinese citizen – Chang Boa Wang – who is before the courts on charges of harbouring under-age Venezuelan girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Quiang Yan was represented by attorneys Jagdeo Singh and Keith Scotland. The State was represented by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Tricia Hudlin-Cooper.