Home detention for alleged leader of illegal workers’ group modified

The federal court allowed yesterday a small change in the home detention of Wencai Guo, one of five indicted for allegedly harboring illegal Chinese workers who worked on the proposed casino and resort of Pacific Imperial International CNMI LLC in Garapan.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered Guo’s release conditions for Sept. 5 to 14, 2017, to be modified so he could be out and about with his wife.

After that period, Manglona said, Guo shall return to full home detention.

The judge ordered the defendant to submit to an interview with the U.S. Probation Office yesterday, Tuesday, along with an interpreter to be briefed on the conditions of his release and other requirements.

Guo’s counsel, Robert T. Torres, informed the court that Guo’s spouse will be visiting Guo from Sept. 3 to 14.

Torres said the U.S. government has indicated it would agree to the temporary modification, as long as there is a daily curfew from 8pm to 8am.

Last April, the court allowed Guo’s release to a third party custodian plus a secured bond of $10,000.

Guo and Xiufang Qi, the other alleged leader of the second group of Chinese workers at the casino/resort project, are from Beilida Overseas (CNMI) Ltd.

Qi and Guo were stopped from leaving the CNMI at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport last April 5. The two were allegedly bound for China.

The other defendants are MCC International project manager Yuqing Zhao, Beilida Overseas president and director Hui Lu, and Beilida’s Hongwei Ma.

A jury trial is currently scheduled on Oct. 31, 2017.

A separate indictment charged MCC International project manager Yuqing Zhao with harboring illegal aliens.

Of the five indicted, only Lu has yet to be arrested.

The indictment alleges that on March 8 through 22, 2017, Ma, Lu, and Guo harbored an illegal alien, Yuanhou Hu, by shielding him from detection and which resulted in Hu’s death.

Hu, a Chinese national, died after falling from a scaffold at the construction site of the Imperial Pacific casino and resort project last March 22.

On Feb. 7 through March 22, 2017, Ma, Lu, Guo, and Qi allegedly harbored six illegal aliens.

A separate indictment alleges that beginning on Aug. 1, 2016, and continuing until March 31, 2017, Zhao harbored 15 illegal aliens.

MCC International was the construction contractor for Imperial Pacific. Beilida was one of the subcontractors of the project.