Man claims revenge behind his detention in China

A businessman has maintained that he is still president of a Saipan company and that he was indeed detained in China for 22 months, under conditions amounting to torture, caused by political influence exerted by his former business partners.

Wangzhong Yu, through counsel Mark A. Scoggins, also disclosed that the ones detaining him forced him to sign a document purporting to be his resignation as president of Universal Group Development Inc. (Saipan).

Yu revealed more information about his detention in his motions to dismiss Universal Group’s lawsuit and motion to join indispensable parties that he filed in the U.S. District Court for the NMI last week.

Universal Group, through counsel Samuel Mok, is suing its former president and shareholder, Yu, for conversion and the First Hawaiian Bank for breach of contract.

Mok alleged in the complaint originally filed in Superior Court that Yu and First Hawaiian Bank have blocked Universal Group from gaining access to $225,000 of its own funds from a business savings account.

Mok asked the court to declare the company as the lawful owner of the funds and to order the bank to allow the company access to the account.

Mok also alleged that Yu was arrested in China when he traveled to that country in 2013 for embezzlement and theft, among other charges.

First Hawaiian Bank has asked to transfer Universal Group’s lawsuit from the Superior Court to federal court.

In Yu’s motions, Scoggins said that Universal Group has incorrectly framed this matter as a dispute over whether the company or Yu should have control over a corporate bank account.

“That isn’t what this case is really about,” said Scoggins, asserting that the real issue is that there is a dispute over who are the true officers, directors, and shareholders of Universal Group.

Scoggins said that two people that are not yet parties to this lawsuit are falsely claiming to hold these positions and that in their absence, complete relief cannot be afforded.

“In other words, before it can be determined who controls the corporate bank account, it must first be determined who controls the corporation,” the lawyer pointed out.

Yu has denied that he ever resigned his position as president. He also debunked claims that he transferred his shares to another person.

Yu contended that he is still the president and a director of Universal Group and that he, along with three other persons, are the rightful shareholders.

Scoggins said Mingnan Jin is trying to claim that he and another man, Jinwei Guo, are the officers and directors, and that Guo is now the sole shareholder.

Scoggins said that Jin and Guo should be made parties to the lawsuit because their absence means the court cannot provide complete relief among the parties.

Scoggins said Yu would testify, and would present evidence, that prior to November 2007, Jin was treated as a shareholder of Universal Group, but that on Nov. 22, 2007, the company took the position that he was instead a subscriber to shares for which consideration had never been paid.

On this basis, Scoggins said, Universal Group cancelled Jin’s subscription, and Jin was no longer considered a part of the company.

“Ever since that time, Mr. Jin has been taking revenge,” Scoggins said.

The lawyer claimed that Jin, rather than trying to resolve the dispute through civil action in the CNMI, instead went to China where he, exerting political influence over some government officials, succeeded in having Yu arrested and detained in China.

Scoggins said Yu was detained for 22 months, with inadequate food and water, no medical attention, and being forced to sit immobile in one position for every waking hour of every day.

Scoggins said Yu would testify that on Nov. 22, 2013, under extreme duress and coercion by the persons who were detaining him, he wrote his name but not his signature in Chinese and using the English letters, on a document purporting to be his resignation as president of the company, and also purporting to transfer all of his shares in the company to Guo.

Scoggins said Yu would also testify that he received no consideration for the shares.

Scoggins said Yu would also present evidence that Jin and Guo then fraudulently created documents attempting to show that all other shareholders in Universal Group had also transferred their shares to Guo, making him the apparent sole shareholder.

Scoggins said Jin or someone acting for him then filed these fraudulent documents at the CNMI Office of the Registrar of Corporations.

Scoggins said Yu could go on, but the testimony that he would produce if and when the proper parties are joined to this action would show that Jin and Guo have stolen Universal Group from the rightful owners and have sought to liquidate the corporate assets, including the bank account that is at issue in this case, for their own benefit.

Scoggins said if Jin and Guo cannot be joined in the lawsuit, the court should dismiss the case for failure to name an indispensable party as required by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Universal Group operates the Hailan Market and Oriental Dumping Restaurant on Saipan.