Tianzhao “Alex” Feng, a Chinese national, will spend the next one year, two months, and eight days in jail in Antigua for setting a popular store on fire.
The supermarket XPZ, which offered everything from food to clothing, was destroyed in the early hours of 1 June 2021, after which the suspect vanished.
Some days later, Feng was caught and subsequently charged with arson.
Following the foreigner’s initial court appearance in June 2021, it was revealed that he did not have his passport and that his visa had expired.
Hence, bail was rejected, and he spent a considerable amount of time in His Majesty’s jail awaiting his arraignment.
In February 2023, he was arraigned in his own tongue and he admitted to the court in English that he had, in fact, set fire to the enormous structure.
Prior to the sentencing hearing, the court received a social inquiry report which stated that the defendant traveled to Antigua in 2017 in search of a better life as a consequence of arrangements made between his uncle and the owner of the supermarket.
He was forced to sign a document he had not fully read, and his passport was confiscated.
Wendel Robinson, Feng’s attorney, compared Feng’s description of his employment at the institution to human trafficking.
The report documented physical mistreatment, unsanitary housing circumstances that deteriorated his health, lengthy labor hours, and little compensation.
According to the defendant, he was also owed money, and before to setting fire to the building, he had a conversation with his supervisor about his health and finances, and after receiving an unfavorable reaction, he became enraged.
It was said that he had no intention of destroying the entire store and its contents, which are estimated to be worth around $10 million EC.
In determining Feng’s sentence, Judge Ann-Marie Smith weighed his employment and housing condition, as well as the fact that he had been on remand for over two years. This reduced his sentence from three years to two.
Feng questioned what would happen once he completed his term, telling the court that he did not intend to return to China.
His attorney promised to help him obtain refugee status.