By CHILA NAMAIKO –

THE Choma Magistrate Court has fined a Chinese, Li Wei, K1,500 after being dragged to court by the Immigration Department for selling fresh fish without authority.
When asked for identification documents sometime in 2014, Li produced a passport showing that he had an employment permit which document he failed to produce.
The officers who apprehended him. Li said he used to work for African Brothers Cooperation limited in Lusaka but had to find something to do for himself.
He told the officers he wanted to quit and form his own firm called Hua Nong Investments Limited which was incorporated under the seal of Registrar of companies on November 19, 2014 to venture in farming and transportation.
He later applied to the Patents and Companies Registration (PACRA) for inclusion of such ventures such as selling of food among others.
But before the investor’s permit which he had applied for was issued, Li who was engaged in farming in Mazabuka, rented a shop in Choma town and started selling fish.
The Immigration officers, however, were agitated by Li’s decision to engage in business of selling fish without their authority.
The officers arrested him and during recording of a warn and caution statement, Li admitted engaging in the business of selling fish without a permit.
Li appeared before Magistrate Mbololwa Mukela on Wednesday and pleaded guilty. In mitigation, he asked for leniency saying he was looking after many workers who would suffer if he was jailed.