Chinese National dragged to court for rape
By Dumisani Ndlovu
A Chinese national Zhang Zhaowen (51) from Derby Mine, Valley Road, Gweru on Friday dragged in Gweru Regional Court charged of raping of minor.
The accused who briefly appeared before Regional Magistrate Christopher Maturure facing Rape as defined in section 65 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23 was remanded to 28 June 2024. He denied the charges.
In a bold narration that left the court gallery envisioning most watching a Chinese kung fu horror movie, Senior Regional Public Prosecutor Aggrina Matutu told the court that on 15 November 2022, the accused, who worked at the same mine with the 17-year-old complainant, grabbed her by the collar and dragged her into the office where he spread a blanket on the floor and forcibly laid her on the blanket and had sexual intercourse with her once without her consent.
As if that was not enough the State Prosecutor further narrated that after the alleged rape, the accused then fired the complainant who was the general cleaner at Derby Mine.
The matter came to light when the complainant, who became pregnant as a result of the alleged rape, informed her 39-year-old mother upon interrogation. She gave birth to a Chinese baby girl on the 2nd of July 2023. A police report was subsequently filed on June 13, 2024, leading to the arrest of the accused.
