SHC grants Chinese national bail

Ziao Jian Jun is suspected of stealing Rs2.9 million through ATM skimming

KARACHI: A Chinese national, Ziao Jian Jun, suspected of stealing Rs2.9 million through ATM skimming, was granted bail by the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday.

Justice Salahuddin Panhwar granted him bail upon the furnishing of a surety of Rs500,000.

His lawyer, Shahab Sarki, argued that the applicant was running a guest house in Karachi, but the police arrested him without having any solid evidence to suggest his involvement in the alleged ATM skimming scam.

The judge was informed that the applicant had approached the trial court seeking grant of bail, but his plea was rejected. Therefore, the high court was pleaded to grant him post-arrest bail.



In January this year, the police had arrested four Chinese nationals from Karachi's Defence neighbourhood, while another was arrested from Bahadurabad. All of them were remanded to jail custody.

The scam had sent shockwaves throughout the country as hundreds of bank accounts were emptied.

The police also claimed to have recovered around Rs2.9 million, skimming devices and ATM cards from their possession.

The arrested Chinese nationals were later handed over to the Cyber Crime Circle of the Federal Investigation Agency for further investigation.