A San Pedro businessman who was supposed to appear in court yesterday - instead spent the night in remand and appeared today.
He is Wen Yuen Zhen, the owner of Ritchie's Supermarket and Island City Supermarket. He is accused of obtaining property by deception from Caribbean International Brewery - who are the brewers of Mine Beer.
And the property was money - about a quarter million dollars' worth of it that the brewing company says he shorted them of. The allegation is that Zhen wrote two checks to the brewery - totaling 250 thousand dollars - which he then put a stop order on. The payment was for Mine Beer and Stout, R and B beer, and Stout and Water.
Today in court, Wen Yuen Zhen pleaded not guilty to obtaining property by deception. We spoke to his attorney outside the court:
Immanuel Williams, Attorney for Wen Yuen Zhen
"Today, my client was charged with the offense of obtaining property by deception. The matter is still in its infancy, so there's not much I can state about the matter this time. However, there is an agreement between the complainant and Mr. Zen, and pursuant to that agreement, there was some bad faith between the parties, and the complaint was lodge, and subsequently my client was charged with the offense of obtaining property by deception."
"Prosecution objected to bail on the basis that my client is a flight risk. However, being a naturalized Belizean, however, I objected on the basis that he has substantial ties to Belize. He has been practicing business in Belize for the last 17 plus years."
"He also owns property in Belize, has never been convicted, and the other usual submissions are made in addition to bail conditions."
Bail of $10,000 for Zhen was arranged by UDP Senator Tony Herrera. His next court date is July 10, 2024.
