Two Chinese nationals accused of murdering a Chinese businessman and his family applied for their discharge in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, saying there is no evidence against them.
Counsel for Siyuan Liu (48) and Jiansen Bai (54) handed in written argument in the trial, asking for their discharge. Oral argument in the case will be presented on Wednesday.
Both accused have denied murdering businessman Jia-Bin Li; his wife, Zin; and daughters Louise (16) and Ruby (4) in November 2004. The family’s decomposing bodies were discovered in a stormwater drain pipe near Midrand several days after they disappeared.
A witness, Yan Bo Zhang, earlier told the court he had seen the two accused strangling the adult Li couple in front of Ruby before she was strangled as well. He had also seen them handling Louise’s body. He said Jia-Bin Li and the accused had argued about a court case and R3,7-million Li apparently owed them.
Both accused vehemently denied his evidence.
Jia-Bin Li’s sister, Yanhau Li, testified that Liu had told her he hated her brother after she accused him of kidnapping the family.
The state handed in DNA evidence indicating that Li’s blood was found in Liu’s garage and Ruby’s hair in his vehicle.
The defence said Zhang was not a credible witness, had contradicted himself and his evidence should be rejected. It said that without Zhang’s evidence there is no direct evidence to link either accused to the murders.
Liu said the DNA evidence does not link him directly to the murders and suggested that Zhang could have committed the murders at his house without his knowledge.
The defence also questioned why the state failed to call as a witness a second man arrested with Zhang, or a security guard who made a statement saying he saw Li at a time when, according to Zhang, he was already dead. — Sapa