Xinoxi Qu, the manager who was charged with the attempted murder of a customer of the FreshCo Supermarket, walked out of a city court a free man yesterday after a magistrate ruled that he was merely retrieving what belonged to his employer.
It was alleged that on April 22nd, at Diamond Public Road, he wounded Gregory Sanmoogan with the intent to murder him.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who presided over the Preliminary Inquiry (PI), stated that the prosecutor needed to prove that the accused attempted to unlawfully kill or cause bodily harm to the complainant.
It was the prosecutor’s case that Sanmoogan unintentionally picked up a black plastic bag along with his grocery bags as he was exiting the FreshCo Supermarket. Afterward, the defendant allegedly ran after the Sanmoogan and began to punch and kick him.
However, the magistrate found that there was no evidence to satisfy the court that he acted unlawfully. Instead, she said he was merely going to retrieve what belonged to his employer.
The defendant further heard that the prosecution failed to show that there was an intention to kill Sanmoogan, there was no physical injuries indicated in the medical report which was presented to the court nor from the complainant.
As a result, the Chief Magistrate noted that the prosecution’s case at its highest was insufficient to put the accused to stand trial at the High Court. She subsequently discharged him.
He was represented by attorney George Thomas, while prosecutor Neville Jeffers led the police’s case.
