Two women from London were held for more than five weeks in a Chinese prison after a row with a shopkeeper over a fake pair of shoes, according to their families.
Esther Jubril-Badmos, 48, and her friend Mary Aderonke Idowu, 59, are stuck in legal limbo in China with worsening health, their families said today. Mrs Idowu, a grandmother-of-five from Hackney, was travelling with Mrs Jubril-Badmos, a mother-of-five from Enfield. They were supposed to return from Guangzhou in southern China in June after a week away.
But their families said today that the pair are now in a Catch-22, marooned in a hotel and the Chinese authorities are refusing to let them leave the country as their visas ran out during their imprisonment.
Mrs Jubril-Badmos is a jewellery and clothing importer and Mrs Idowu was advising her on styles when their troubles began during a visit to a supplier.
There was a row over the authenticity of a pair of shoes, during which Mrs Jubril-Badmos demanded her £50 deposit back.
The families said that during the confrontation Mrs Jubril-Badmos was struck hard and “dragged out of the shop by her hair” and she used a pair of shoes to defend herself.
The police were called and arrested the women. Mrs Idowu’s daughter, Sarah Murray, 34, said: “They were taken to the police station, questioned for 24 hours and then transferred to a detention centre where they were held for 38 days without being charged.” In a note from her cell, Mrs Idowu told her family: “This is hell, I am not doing well.”
The women were released at the end of last month and have since been staying in a hotel.
They are being helped by the British consulate but the authorities have not allowed them an exit visa because they outstayed their original permit.
Ms Jubril-Badmos paid compensation to the wholesaler and police discontinued the case but there remains confusion over the pair’s legal standing.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said the Government was awaiting the outcome of the Chinese investigation and that it was “a matter for them”.
