Patna: A Chinese national employed with mobile handset maker Oppo was arrested on Sunday night after police received a tip-off that around ten foreigners were drinking liquor in the company’s guest house in Gardaibagh, Patna.
Patna SSP Manu Maharaj said, “Tiandong was in possession of two bottles of foreign liquor in his room at the time of the raid. Another bottle of liquor was recovered from his associate Wu Chuangyong, living in the adjoining room.”
After the state government imposed a strict prohibition law in 2016, consumption and possession of liquor is a non-bailable offence in Bihar and punishable with up to 10 years in jail.
The SSP said that another employee would be arrested soon. “Wu had already left Patna for Purnia or Begusarai. He would be arrested after his return to Patna,” he said.
The four-storey guest house is owned by a local Shahid Imam who rented it to Oppo. Nine Chinese nationals including two women, all employees of Oppo, were living in the guest house when it was raided.
The police have confiscated passports of all the employees for investigation.
Oppo on Monday came out with a press release accepting they were employees of the company.
"Oppo India is in the knowledge of what has happened. Our business activities in India fully respect law of the land. Behaviour of the employees are questionable but they acted in their own personal capacity and it has nothing to do with the company's ideology or motive. We are fully cooperating with local authorities,” the statement read.
Patna police also raided the company's showroom in Gandhi Maidan area and seized Rs 9 lakh in cash after the employees were unable to explain the source of the cash.
Some reports also claimed that some Oppo employees from China had arrived in the country on a business visa instead of a working visa. When asked about the reported discrepancies in the passport and visas, Additional Director General (ADG) of police SK Singhal told News18 that he would come out with the findings on Tuesday.
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