KATHMANDU: On January 3, two Chinese nationals Li Wiping and Li Jiangjing, who were staying at a hotel in Gaushala, Kathmandu, were asked to come out by two other Chinese nationals Wu Chao and Zhang Wei.

The two Chinese Wi Ping and Jiangjing agreed to come out of their hotel room.

They were asked to get inside a taxi parked outside the hotel. In the taxi were two Nepali nationals. The taxi then headed directly towards Sindhupalchowk district.

According to DSP Pravesh Bista, spokesperson of the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police, the taxi reached Marminga in Sindhupalchowk district from where they were kept hostage. DSP Bista said, “We initiated a secret investigation soon after the relatives of the two Chinese nationals filed a complaint. We then managed to rescue the two abductees five days after their abduction and arrested for five days and arrest the four involved.”

Police succeeded in rescuing the two Chinese on January 3. They had injuries on their hands and legs as the abductors had thrashed them severely. DSP Bista said, “We succeeded in rescuing them from the custody of the abductors.”

He added that there were several marks of injury in their bodies. They were taken to various places in the valley and were tortured. “We are investigating the case seriously,” he said.

The two Chinese nationals arrested in connection with the abduction are Xin Angkhoi and Zhang Wei of Shandong, China. Police have also arrested their Nepali accomplices — Dawa Pasang Lama of Sindhupalchowk and Bhakta Lama alias “Maila”. However, the reason for the abduction has yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, security experts term the entire episode as a weakness of security mechanism since the police did not even get a hint of the abduction and the taxi that reached Sindhupalchowk from Kathmandu in a broad daylight bypassing several checkpoints.

Involvement of Chinese nationals from gold smuggling to theft

This is one of the several cases of Chinese nationals’ involvement in the crime in Nepal. On March 13 last year, a group of Chinese people armed with swords and home-made weapons abruptly attacked a Nepali taxi driver in Jyatha of Thamel.

Traders and pedestrians at the Thamel area had then retaliated against the Chinese assaulters and saved the severely injured taxi driver. Police had then arrested Wang Yunfeng, a Chinese businessman who led the mob but released him immediately.

In one of the biggest operations against Chinese nationals in Kathmandu, police raided various places in Kathmandu and arrested as many as 122 Chinese nationals who were residing illegally in Kathmandu and were involved in financial crimes in December last year. This was the largest police operation in which so many foreign nationals were arrested.

Meanwhile, police had arrested five Chinese nationals on September 1, 2019, while stealing money by hacking the ATM PIN of a bank. Another Chinese national was arrested the next day.

Meanwhile, police arrested three Chinese nationals along with 8 kg of gold from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on November 28, 2019. Likewise, on 5 August 2019, police had arrested a Chinese national, Li Ning, coming from Hong Kong at the TIA with four kilograms of gold.

Similarly, two Chinese nationals were arrested for “stealing” while they were on board a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul on August 25, 2019.

These are some of the representative cases of Chinese national’s illegal activities in Nepal in the last one year. According to the police headquarters, more than 100 Chinese nationals have been arrested in the past five years in connection with various illegal activities in Nepal.

Police said the majority of those arrested were found to be involved in dollar cases and smuggling. They have also been implicated in their involvement in wildlife parts, herbal smuggling, hacking and illegal medical practices.

Reasons for Chinese nationals’ involvement in criminal activities 

The previous government led by the current Prime Minister KP Oli had decided to waive visa fees to Chinese tourists. As a result, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Nepal increased drastically.

Hemant Malla, former DIG of Nepal Police, says, “As the number of Chinese nationals coming to Nepal began to increase, so did their involvement in criminal activities.”

According to Malla, the problem has been exacerbated by the use of high-tech technology by Chinese nationals involved in crime, and pressure from the embassy to release the Chinese nationals if they are arrested.

Besides, since it is difficult to coordinate with the Chinese Embassy here, this has led to additional problems.