Francelys María Furcal Rodríguez, the Dominican woman accused of killing her boss, Chinese merchant Chen Zongxin on 21 April 2022 after a heated argument at the Z&C Hardware Store in the National District, is back in the Dominican Republic. She now awaits her indictment in the Ciudad Nueva Courthouse jail. She had fled abroad to escape charges. She was deported on 6 May 2024 on an Iberia flight from Madrid, after the Spanish judiciary approved her extradition. She had been arrested in August 2023 in Madrid.
What is most extraordinary, and has yet to be answered, is how a woman who took a job in a Chinese hardware store, known for their poor working conditions and low pay, would have the backing to flee on 22 June 2022, with changes of identity and stops in multiple countries (Colombia, Brazil, Qatar, Spain), before taking residence in Spain.
The incident marked an increase in government authorities’ focus on Chinese businesses, infamous for violations of labor, tax and customs laws. This year, a joint effort of the tax and customs agencies has resulted in the shutdown of more than 20 of the Chinese businesses for violations of the law.
The store surveillance video showed the young woman throwing a notebook at the counter. The deceased boss throws it back and kicks the woman who reacts reaching for a knife on a shelf below and stabbing him. After injuring the man, she goes for help and returns to go missing until she was arrested in Barcelona, Spain on 3 August 2023. Lawyers here say that if she had been tried, she could have secured a reduced sentence arguing she acted in her defense and did not have the intention of murder. She will now face aggravated charges.
The Dominican police spokesman Diego Pesqueira explained that the woman had left the country on 22 June 2022 and then hid for 41 days in Pereira, Colombia, before flying to Sao Paulo, Brazil on 2 August 2022. From there, on 7 August, she traveled from Sao Paulo continuing on 8 August, to Doha, Qatar, Paris, France and then Barcelona, Spain.
The Spanish police in a joint operation with Interpol arrested her in Barcelona. She was being traced since she first traveled to Colombia. The media reports she obtained a fake citizenship in Colombia (Pereira) she used to travel to Sao Paulo, Qatar, Paris and Barcelona.
Read more:
Hoy
El Caribe
Noticias SIN
DR1 News
7 May 2024