Mwingi Law Court has slapped three Chinese nationals with Ksh 2 million bail with a surety of the same amount in a case where they were accused of obtaining money by false pretences and conspiracy to defraud.

Le Chuan Chen, Le Lei Chen and Qi Zhao Zin are said to have jointly entered into a contract with Ederman Properties Kenya to supply Gypsum Production machines in July 2020.

The trio obtained Ksh 320 million which is the whole amount for supplying the materials and went into hiding only to resurface more than two years later with a different set of machines which were below the agreed standards and did not meet specifications outlined in the contract.

The Gypsum production machines were to be sourced from China and were supposed to work with a production speed of 30-35meters per minute.

Mwingi law Court Principal Magistrate Ismael Ruhu ruled out that article 49 of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees the three accused persons the right to be released on bond or bail, on reasonable conditions, pending a charge or trial, unless there are compelling reasons not to be released.

He read that the court admits each of the three accused to Ksh 2 million and a surety of the same amount, he further ordered that the accused deposit their passports at the court and each of them to swear an affidavit and declare an area of residence. 

The Magistrate further ordered the accused to report to the Mwingi Directorate of Criminal Investigation officer (DCI) after every three weeks and in circumstances, they will not be able to report to the said offices, they are allowed to report to any DCI office on approval by Mwingi DCI.

The three were arrested Monday morning and brought before Mwingi Principal Magistrate Ismael Ruhu Wednesday after the court secured a Chinese interpreter for them.

This is as required by Constitution in article 50, which states that the accused has the right to have the assistance of an interpreter without payment if the accused persons cannot understand the language used at the trial. 

The case will be mentioned on the 21st of December 2022.