Inhumane working and living conditions – coupled with physical abuse – caused Tianzhao “Alex” Feng to sink so low emotionally he set the supermarket he worked at on fire.
That was the damning account presented to the High Court to explain the actions of the Chinese national who was yesterday sentenced for burning down the XPZ Supermarket.
The Sir Sydney Walling Highway-based store was razed to the ground in the early hours of June 1 2021.
In sentencing him, the judge took into account his guilty plea, mitigating factors and the almost 22 months he’d spent on remand.
Feng – whose crime carries a 10-year maximum sentence – will spend 14 more months behind bars for the single count of arson.
Feng, now 30, had grown increasingly frustrated and distressed to the point of feeling suicidal, the court was told, and had apparently turned to drinking and gambling to ease the pain.
He was one of nine Chinese nationals employed at the store who lived on the premises. Feng had been employed for four years as a warehouse clerk and resided in living quarters at the back of the supermarket that were said to be infested with rats and cockroaches.
He is said to have set his bed alight in the early hours of that fateful day while drunk, before gaining access to the store and setting a fire there too.
Feng’s coworkers were apparently awoken by the sound of glass breaking and the smell of plastic burning.
Some attempted to fight the flames but they proved too powerful. Residents noticed that Feng’s room was also consumed by fire and that he was nowhere to be seen.
Feng went into hiding for several days before approaching a member of the public on June 7, apparently offering him $20 for the use of his phone to call the police. He was taken into custody a short time later.
Court documents note the extensive damage to the store and the fact that Feng’s actions put multiple people in danger and caused severe financial losses to the business owner.
The store’s destruction also put 60 staff out of work.
The documents note too that Feng was a first-time offender, entered an early guilty plea and expressed remorse.
Defence attorney Wendel Robinson said Feng’s situation had the hallmarks of human trafficking. He was brought to Antigua from St Lucia, he said, had his passport taken from him and was only able to see a doctor when accompanied by a senior manager of the store.
Feng was not able to access adequate treatment for medical conditions he was suffering from, while living in squalid accommodation. He was also said to have been in the country unlawfully – and not by choice. Money was deducted from his salary for a work permit that had not been paid for, the court heard.
On top of that, Feng was working 12-hour shifts and being paid just EC$900 per month.
Robinson has pledged to make contact with the Chinese Embassy on behalf of Feng, who has reportedly said he does not wish to return to China after completing his sentence.