Chinese employee ‘Alex’ admits to setting fire to his workplace, XPZ Supermarket, in 2017; sentencing set for March 21

Chinese national Tianzhao “Alex” Feng has admitted to setting fire to his workplace, the former XPZ Supermarket on Sir Sydney Walling Highway, on June 1, 2021, leaving dozens of workers unemployed.
 
He appeared in the High Court of Justice today, February 17, and pleaded guilty when the indictment of arson was put to him. He will be sentenced on March 21.
 
Hours before the fire, at about 11 p.m. on May 31, Feng reportedly disappeared; and, during the suspicious blaze, which began at around 2 a.m., his employers were still trying to reach him. Calls to his cell phone went unanswered and some residents feared he had perished in the building.

Later allegations said that Feng had been having problems with the other Chinese workers and had deleted himself from their chat group and refused to answer calls.
 
It took firefighters over five hours to extinguish the inferno, which completely destroyed the structure, leaving behind twisted and charred metal.

However, when no human remains were found, the Police and the public began looking out for the Chinese man. Then, on June 7, after hiding out for six days, Feng surrendered himself in the Lower Gambles neighbourhood by having a resident call the Police.
 
Meanwhile, reports from the Immigration Department are that Feng, who has been on remand since his first court appearance on Wednesday, June 9, 2021, has no legal status in the country.
 
Reportedly, there were some inconsistencies regarding his immigration status, and subsequent checks confirmed that the Chinese national was out of legal time. Feng had claimed, then, that his passport was being held at the Chinese Embassy.

It is not known, now, whether an application will be made for his deportation from Antigua and Barbuda.