A CHINESE woman who this month appeared before the Gweru Magistrates’ Courts facing allegations of contravening a section of the Immigration Act, which prohibits foreigners from seeking employment without a work permit, has been acquitted of the charges.
Stephen Chadenga OWN CORRESPONDENT
Liu Yan, whose residential address was given as 45 Ceres Road, Prospect, Waterfalls, Harare, allegedly sought employment as an interpreter at a Chinese-owned gold processing plant without a work permit.
Immigration officials who raided the premises had maintained in court that Yan had told them that she worked at the company as an interpreter.
Yan, however, denied the charges, saying she had only offered to interpret to immigration officials since she was the only Chinese at the site who could understand English.
Provincial magistrate Pathekile Msipa found Yan not guilty of the charges and acquitted her.
Msipa ruled that the State had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that indeed Yan had illegally sought employment.
Prosecutor Munyaradzi Guvheya had told the court that Yan entered the country as a dependent of Wang Decai and was issued with a permit, which did not allow her to seek employment in the country.
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The State further alleged that on February 19, officials from the Gweru immigration office were on routine compliance checks on foreigners employed in the Zhombe area in the Midlands province.
The immigration officers visited Yuahang gold processing plant, where they asked to see the company management.
Yan came out of the company offices and produced work permits of other Chinese nationals, but failed to produce her own.
She was arrested and taken to Gweru Central Police Station.
