Three Chinese nationals, including a four-year-old, who were imprisoned for overstaying visa can now walk out of the jail as the Kerala High Court granted them bail on Friday.
Hu Xiaolin, her child Han Riu Hou, and Song Qi Hou were booked for violation of the Foreigners Act. The three came to India on tourist visa of validity up to June 1, 2017. They were apprehended by the Infopark police on July 19 as they stayed in Ernakulam illegally after the expiry of their visa.
Ms. Xiaolin was married to a Keralite.
The child, who was also arraigned as an accused by the police along with her mother, was first put at the Women’s Prison, Thrissur. Later, she was shifted to Ernakulam as the Thrissur jail authorities found her unmanageable.
The Hindu had brought out the news of the imprisonment of the child and the trauma she was undergoing in the prison.
The Kadakkal police had also registered a case against the Chinese nationals for forgery.
The prosecution allegation was that the foreign nationals “produced a medical certificate evidencing that one of the Chinese nationals had undergone medical treatment and, accordingly, tourist visa was got converted into medical visa. The medical certificate later turned out to be forged document”, according to the High Court order.
Granting bail, the court directed the petitioners to execute bonds of ₹50,000 each with two sureties for the like amount. They were directed to appear before the investigating officer in the case as and when called for.
The court further imposed the conditions that they shall not leave the country without the express and written permission of the jurisdictional court and shall not get involved in any other offence of similar nature.
The court also imposed the condition that they shall not threaten, coerce or intimidate the complainants and witnesses in the case and not interfere with the process of investigation.
