A 36-year-old Chinese athlete, Chen Ching Yen, who trains in Iten town, has been charged in Eldoret court for allegedly threatening to kill his girlfriend, Michelle Jemutai Koskei.
Yen was arrested by officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) in Eldoret two weeks ago after Koskei reported receiving death threats from him.
According to the police, the athlete sent her a threatening WhatsApp message two years ago, on May 9, 2022, from an unknown location in Kenya.
The message reportedly read: “Let me tell you, I can kill you and the baby, and you will do nothing because the police in Kenya are just stupid. I will give them money, and there will be no more story about you. I will cut you into pieces.”
During the court proceedings, the investigating officer, Githinji Kaaria, requested that the court detain Yen for an additional two weeks to complete the investigation.
The foreign runner has been in remand at the Eldoret GK remand prison for two weeks since his arrest.
The request for further detention led to a dispute with Yen’s defense lawyers, Alex Masakha and Peter Momonayi.
The IO Kaaria argued, “Your Honour, I need more time to complete the investigations against the accused.”
However, the defense team opposed the request, stating that the police had no justification to seek further detention.
“The investigating officer(IO) had ample time to conclude the investigations, including recording statements from witnesses,” Masakha argued.
He also noted that, two weeks after Yen’s arrest, the police had yet to record a statement from the complainant or other witnesses expected to testify.
Senior Principal Magistrate Onkoba Mogire rejected the request for extended detention and scheduled the case for a pre-trial hearing on October 2, 2024.
Mogire released Yen on a Kes.50,000 bond with a surety of the same amount, which must be posted by a Kenyan citizen. The magistrate further instructed Yen to appear in court as required.
