KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court acquitted on Thursday a Chinese national in a kidnapping for ransom case due to lack of evidence.

Hai Feng was charged with kidnapping his fellow national Yugang Bai for ransom in Clifton in January 2013.

Judge Imdad Ali Khoso of ATC-VIII, who conducted the trial, exonerated the accused after recording the evidence of witnesses and final arguments from both sides.

In his final arguments, defence lawyer Mohammad Farooq argued that his client was wrongly accused and actually he was a victim as he was also kidnapped with the captive, adding that the complainant did not turn up to testify while there were glaring contradictions in the evidence of the captive.

However, the prosecutor contended that the victim was a key witness in the case and he had supported the version of the prosecution in his 164 CrPC statement as well as before the trial court, and maintained that the case was fit for conviction.

According to the prosecution, the victim was running a solar energy company and the accused was a marketing manager in his firm and he allegedly kidnapped his employer on Jan 6 and dem­anded a ransom of Rs1m for his release. However, the captive was released without any payment of ransom on Jan 13, it added.

A case was registered under Section 365-A (kidnapping for extorting property, etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 (e) of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997 at the Darakshan police station.

Machuan, a colleague of the captive, was the complainant in the case, but he went back to China without recording his evidence.

Plea against Afaq

An anti-terrorism court reserved on Tuesday its order on an application of the complainant side to examine two witnesses in a case pertaining to kidnapping for ransom against Mohajir Qaumi Move­ment chief Afaq Ahmed.

He has been charged with abetting the kidnapping of a sub-divisional officer of the now defunct KDA in May 2001 in Korangi and demanding a ransom for his release.

On Nov 18, the court had reserved its verdict in the case for Nov 25, but it was deferred as the complainant’s lawyer, Mushtaq Ahmed, moved an application under Section 540 of the CrPC.

The counsel asked the court to summon and record evidence of a doctor, who examined the captive, and a judge or reader of an anti-terrorism court, which had recorded the statement of then colonel Abdul Malik of the Rangers, Sindh, said to have played a key role in recovering the captive and handing him over to the police.

The defence lawyer vehemently opposed the plea and contended that it was merely a delaying tactic to further prolong the trial. After hearing the arguments, judge Akhlaq Hussain Larak of ATC-VII reserved order on the plea till Dec 1.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014