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THE BOAT PEOPLE TRIAL Verdict expected to be out today
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Posted on Oct 05 1999
After a two-week trial, the jury that heard the alien smuggling case involving six defendants is expected to return a verdict today.
The 12-man jury started the deliberation yesterday after defense lawyer Linda Wingenbaugh and Assistant U.S. Atty. Gregory Baka wrapped up the defense’s and the prosecution’s arguments.
The six — He Xi Di, Shi Guo Rui, Gao Liang, Xue Jian Hui, Shi Peng, He Xiu Jin — were charged with conspiracy to smuggle aliens, alien smuggling for profit, and attempted alien smuggling into a place other than the designated port.
They were among the 51 people on the boat interdicted by the US Coast Guard while sailing toward Guam in May.
Wingenbaugh told the jury that the defendants could not be found guilty beyond reasonable doubt considering that the witnesses seemed uncertain when they identified the defendants as among the “enforcers.”
“The defendants were identified through photographs and they have since been known simply as numbers,” Wingenbaugh said.
Some of the witnesses, Wingenbaugh said, could not match the photographs with the actual persons in the courtroom when they were asked to point to those who allegedly beat them up on the boat.
Rebutting the defense’s arguments, Baka maintained there existed a conspiracy to smuggle undocumented aliens into a US territory.
The fact that the boat passengers were asked to use the radio to call their families in China indicated the existence of organization, Baka said.
He said the “enforcers” did not care to grab the passengers’ pocket money while on the boat because the transactions with the snake heads involved huge amounts of money.
“The money goes to the snake heads, and we’re talking of 80,000 [RMB] not $80,” Baka said. “The discipline indicates that there’s an organization [behind alien smuggling].” (MCM)
