By Elesha George
Tianzhao Alex Feng, the arsonist who burned down the XPZ supermarket in 2021, is back behind bars after hurling stones at his former workplace.
On Tuesday, Feng was seen on video attempting to enter the premises of XPZ by violently shaking its steel gates. Another video placed him kneeling in the middle of Sir Sydney Walling Highway apparently waiting on police officers who had been called in about a disturbance.
He was remanded to His Majesty’s Prison on Friday and will remain there until his next court hearing at the St John’s Magistrates’ Court on August 16.
Feng, dressed in a black long-sleeved work shirt, khaki pants and beige Puma sneakers, strolled into court alongside other remandees yesterday. While on the stand he told Magistrate Dane Hamilton that he threw stones that broke the rebuilt store’s window after an XPZ employee came to harass him and say something to him at his new workplace.
He was ready to pay a fine for the offence but prosecutors said they felt that for the safety of the public, he should be remanded until the court is able to secure a Chinese interpreter to ensure that Feng fully understands what is taking place in court.
When asked whether he had anyone who could bail him out, Feng responded, “A Chinee man me be nuh,” indicating to the court that he had no close friends or relatives able to do so.
The magistrate explained to Feng that because he was previously convicted of a very serious offence linked to the same people he said harassed him, at the same property and the same place, he could not allow him bail.
Hamilton however said he was minded to reconsider his position when the 32-year-old appeared before him again next Friday.
Feng was charged with maliciously causing damage to XPZ’s property, using threatening language and throwing missiles. According to the police, he went onto the property and broke a glass window, and damaged several galvanised panels and a metal gate at around 5pm on August 6.
Feng, who now resides in Potters, was convicted of arson in February 2023 for setting fire to the XPZ store in June 2021, causing an estimated EC$10 million in damage and leaving nearly 60 people unemployed.
He was sentenced to 14 months in prison, with his time on remand taken into account.
A social investigation report revealed that Feng’s arrival in Antigua and Barbuda bore the hallmarks of human trafficking. It also detailed several suicide attempts and described the inhumane working and living conditions he endured, including physical abuse. During his sentencing in March 2023, High Court Judge Justice Ann-Marie Smith acknowledged Feng as a victim of cruel circumstances.
Since his release, Feng had pleaded with the public for a second chance and requested not to be sent back to China.
