Opinions
7 years ago

Murder of a Chinese businessman

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The murder of a Chinese businessman at Uposohor, Jessore could, once again, have brought to the fore the issue of security of life of foreigners in this country but for the nature of killing. Chang Hing Sang, an easybike dealer in Jessore, was beaten to death, the police suspect, by two employees of the deceased. It is too early, though, to rule out if investigation will lead to facts other than such a private motive. That a blue print for murder of foreigners was drawn in the recent past by some quarters was quite evident. An Italian and a Japanese had been murdered and another foreign national had survived an attempt on his life by a whisker before the carnage at Gulshan's Holey Artisan Bakery was carried out.
Governments of many countries were forced to issue red alert on movement of their nationals in Bangladesh. By this time things have normalised a lot. Also there was hardly any reason to apprehend that the Chinese too were on the hit list. In fact, China has not followed any foreign policy hostile enough to draw ire from the radical Muslims or extremists. The discord involving Uighur Muslim ethnic minority has not made big news in international media. 
So if the prima facie evidence of a murder intended to get hold of a large amount of money from the employer is correct, there is no reason to divert the attention. But then the murder of a foreigner in cold blood, no matter under what circumstances, has its wider implications than when a local person is done to death with the same motive. Such incidents tell on the business environment in a country, particularly for foreign nationals. The fact that the Japanese government delayed sending experts and technicians involved with elevated expressway and the Padma Bridge despite assurance of heavy security arrangement for them is not for nothing. 
Acceptably, the Chinese are highly prolific in industrial production and theirs are the cheapest products in the whole world. So they have to expand their markets too. Men like Chang Hing have to do business in foreign lands. They could not think in their wildest dreams that their business would cost their lives. If the employees are the murderers, one wonders if they are capable of comprehending the impact of their crime. They have not only killed a man but also the bond that cements relations between individuals and, by extension, two independent nations. When trust between human beings -irrespective of their origin -becomes a casualty like this, the entire humanity diminishes. 
A picture of the wailing wife of the murdered man says it all. How can the woman reconcile with the loss of her love? The couple used to live in Dhaka and occasionally visited Jessore for business purposes. So they had to rent a house there as well for his stay in that town. First he was missing and then his body was found in his rented room. Clearly he was a soft target. The killers took advantage of his vulnerability, being forgetful of the fact that with blood on their hands they could not but be damned and doomed. If the guilt is proved, the killers will get punished; if not, they will be haunted by their guilt only to be condemned eternally.             

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