According to the Evening Standard, the two women are stranded in China with worsening health, their families have revealed. Mrs Idowu, who is a grandmother-of-five from Hackney, was travelling with her friend 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. Their families have complained that they are stuck in a Chinese hotel and the authorities are refusing to let them leave the country as their visas expired during their imprisonment. Mrs Idowu was advising Mrs Jubril-Badmos, who is a jewellery and clothing importer, on styles when trouble started during a visit to a supplier. The row started over the authenticity of a pair of shoes and 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 two women were eventually released at the end of last month and have since been stranded 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”. - See more at: urnaija/nigerian- british-woman-lands-in-chinese-prison-over-shoe- shop-dispute/
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 16:33:10 +0000