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Chinese Embassy deplores insecurity

Zhou Feng's widow (2nd from L) and other symphathisers during the funeral service Sunday
Zhou Feng’s widow (2nd from L) and other symphathisers during the funeral service Sunday

The Chinese Embassy in Lilongwe has deplored rising cases of insecurity in the country and asked the police to step up the gear in providing security to citizens.

Chinese Embassy director of consular services Zhou Baoguo said this in Blantyre yesterday during the cremation ceremony of Zhou Feng, a 48-year-old Chinese national, which took place in Limbe.

Zhoe Feng, who owned a cooking oil plant at Mapanga, was shot dead on July 13 2013, in the course of chasing robbers who had stolen money from his factory.

Said the diplomat:“We call upon the Malawi Police to provide adequate security to all Malawians, not only the Chinese but all Malawians. We call upon them to hunt those that are responsible for this death and bring them to justice.”

He told journalists that he was shocked when he heard about the shooting because he could not imagine that some people were so insecure.

Blantyre City Council (BCC) chief executive officer Ted Nandolo, who attended the funeral service, expressed concern about the incident, especially the fact that it happened at a time when Malawi is in need of foreign investors.

“This, however, should not scare other investors because we will help the police by providing fuel for their patrols,” he said.

In recent months, there have been reports of rising insecurity in major cities in the country.

In May this year, President Joyce Banda ordered a 24-hour police security to Daeyang Luke Hospital in Lilongwe after officials at the hospital had complained to her about losing millions of kwacha to robbers.

There have been suggestions that there was security during the rule of former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika.

But Minister of Home Affairs Uladi Mussa yesterday dismissed such assertions and talk about insecurity in the country, saying people should not generalise isolated incidents.

But when told that people’s perception is that they were more secure under Mutharika than now, Mussa was dismissive, saying: “People were being shot dead just for demonstrating. Is that the security you are talking about?”

According to information provided by the Overseas Chinese Chambers of Commerce in Malawi, Zhou Feng was born in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi province in China on July 18 1966. He followed his parents to live in Qingdao City, Shandong Province. He started his cooking oil production business in Malawi in 2004.

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