Supporters of Chinatown employees who were charged with the kidnapping, forcible confinement and assault of an accused shoplifter called on the government yesterday to review the law surrounding citizen arrests.
Wang "David" Chen, the 35-year-old owner of Lucky Moose Food Mart on Dundas St. W., stood in front of a sidewalk full of reporters as members of the newly formed Victims' Rights Action Committee appealed for justice.
Chen and employees Jie Chen, 21, and Qing Li, 40, are accused of attacking a man May 23 after he allegedly stole from them earlier that day. Police say the trio chased the man down by car and foot, beat him, bound him at the arms and feet and put him into a van, which was pulling away when police arrived.
Under Section 494 of the Criminal Code, a property owner can arrest a person "whom he finds committing a criminal offence on or in relation to that property."
"That means so long as someone manages to finish their shoplifting and leave your store, then the offence has been committed and he is no longer committing it and you are unable to effect citizen's arrest," committee member and civil litigation lawyer Chi-Kun Shi said.
"I feel there is something wrong with it," Shi said, before calling upon federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to review the provision. "Is the minister going to do something to amend the code and make sure that the Criminal Code works for innocent Canadians and not for the criminals?"
Chen had complained to police "more than 10 times" about shoplifters at his store before running down the man, he said. "I feel like it's not fair."
Committee co-ordinator Ricky Chan said he hopes a petition at vracommittee.com calling on the government to "clarify" the law will draw support.
"I think it is, to some degree, a miscarriage of the justice system right now," Chan said.
"It's a regular occurrence," he said of shoplifting in Chinatown. "Something has to be done about it."
The store has been robbed at least twice since the May 23 incident, Chan said.
TAMARA.CHERRY@SUNMEDIA.CA
