Chinese merchant kills fleeing robber

The weekend which has just passed may one day be looked back on as the point at which Chinese merchants in Belize stopped being victimized…and started taking the law into their own hands. The result is that a 22-year old man is dead following an attempted robbery on Saturday night. The incident took place at the O.K Chinese store and restaurant at two and a half miles on the Northern Highway. According to police reports, three young men, went to the establishment and ordered fried chicken. However, 33-year old Luo Song Tian, the shop’s owner, told police that as his 16-year old daughter went to serve the men, one of them demanded money as another pulled out a gun and pointed it at her head. Tian says his daughter got frightened and dropped the cigar box that had the cash. Tian says as his daughter bent down to pick up the money, he pulled out a 16 gauge shotgun that was nearby. When the young men saw the weapon, they decided to make a run for it. While two of them managed to get away, the third assailant, identified as Lionel Barona, was shot. According to police, Barona, who had jumped on his bike, received injuries to the left side of his head and died on the spot. Tian has been charged with manslaughter. With regard to the other robbers, police have detained one man and continue to look for the second.