Lilongwe (Malawi), Jul 20 (IANS): The police in Malawi have charged a Chinese man with child trafficking after a BBC documentary accused him of filming children chanting racist phrases mocking themselves in Chinese, according to authorities in the southeast African country, CNN reported.

Deputy spokesperson for the Malawi Police Service, Harry Namwaza, told CNN the man, identified as Lu Ke, was charged with five counts of child trafficking on Monday in a magistrates court in the capital Lilongwe.

Lu was arrested and extradited from Zambia last month after fleeing Malawi, the police spokesperson said, CNN reported.

"He appeared before the court on Monday and he has been remanded to Maula Prison for 15 days as police work on finalising the investigation," Namwaza added, adding, "He asked for bail but he was denied as there is fear that he may run away as shown in his previous encounter."

The BBC's 'Africa Eye' documentary alleged that Lu used Malawian children to film personalised greetings videos, sold online in China, some of which contained racist content.

In one clip, some of the children -- said to be as young as six -- sang "I'm a black monster and my IQ is low" in Chinese, the documentary showed, CNN reported.

The film sparked outrage in Malawi after it was aired.

Lu did not have legal representation at the hearing on Monday and did not enter a plea, Namwaza said.