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Tourist who tried to sneak to Guam using inflatable boat pleads guilty
One of two Chinese male nationals who were rescued from a distressed inflatable boat in the waters near Rota in their alleged attempt to sneak to Guam has entered a guilty plea in federal court on Friday.
Jingzhi Zeng, 25, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with a misdemeanor offense of entering the United States by willfully false and misleading representation and willful concealment of material fact.
Court-appointed counsel Colin Thompson represented Zeng in the case.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted Zeng’s guilty plea and set the sentencing for Oct. 26, 2012 at 9am.
Assistant U.S. attorney Ross K. Naughton told the court that Zeng arrived as a tourist at Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport on April 4, 2012 and claimed he would stay only for five days in the CNMI or until April 9.
Naughton said Zeng, however, had no intent to return to China on April 9 as he instead went to Rota.
The prosecutor said Zeng’s plan was to secretly proceed to Guam to open a business.
Homeland Security Investigations special agent Isra D. Harahap stated in an affidavit that, on April 22, 2012, DPS Boating Safety officers on Rota responded to a distressed inflatable boat in the ocean two miles off shore of Rota.
The officers located the boat and rescued the passengers of the raft who were later identified as Zeng and Jingqiang Huang.
Huang was the one who bought the inflatable boat in China and brought it to Rota through Saipan. The two launched the boat at the pier close to the Coral Garden Hotel in Rota at around midnight.
The two mentioned they were going fishing and were not attempting to go to Guam.
During further interview, Huang confessed they were attempting to row the boat from Rota to Guam.
Huang added that once they land in Guam, they would contact a Chinese national who lives there to pick them up.
Zeng later admitted that as they were attempting to row the boat to Guam, they realized they could not make it because the condition of the ocean was rough.
Zeng said he got the idea of sneaking into Guam from Rota from the Internet when he was in China before coming to the CNMI.
It is not clear yet whether charges was filed or will also be filed against Zeng’s companion, Huang.
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
