PROC national in alien smuggling gets 4 years

A 16-year-old Chinese national yesterday was sentenced to nearly four years in jail in connection with the attempt to smuggle dozens of his compatriots into Guam aboard fishing vessels.

U.S. District Court Judge Alex R. Munson imposed a less severe sentence of 46 months imprisonment for Mr. Gao after he pled guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting attempted alien smuggling. The offense carries a maximum 10 years in jail, three-year supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Federal prosecutors dropped two other charges against him in exchange for the plea agreement he forged early this year.

Based on court documents, Mr. Gao was caught along with nine others who served as crewmen of the boat that ferried 51 undocumented aliens from Fujian province, China towards Guam in May 1999.

They were later named as defendants to the lawsuit brought against by the U.S. government. He Xi Di, Shi Guo Rui, Gao Liang, He Xiu Jin were acquitted of all charges last October after a jury trial, while Xue Jian Hui and Shi Peng were found guilty.

The prosecution said they were “enforcers” who intimidated, coerced, beat and detained the smuggled aliens aboard the boat and otherwise assisted and aided in the operation and the sailing of the vessel.

During the trip, the passengers were in the fish hold of the boat, a compartment below the main deck normally used for storing caught fish. Mr. Gao knew that they were Chinese being smuggled into Guam.

The one or more also made radio calls to People’s Republic of China for the purpose of arranging payment for the smuggling, the documents stated.

Investigations conducted by US immigration special agent Timothy Isenhart revealed that each of the undocumented migrants paid the crewmen 15,000 Chinese RMB in exchange for their trip to Guam, where they had hoped to get asylum.

At least 29 individuals were prosecuted by the federal government in connection with five smuggling ships that were sent to Tinian last year after the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted them.

In January, Judge Munson sent Shi Peng, the lead enforcer of Mr. Gao’s ship, into 16 years in jail, the stiffest penalty ever imposed on the alien smugglers. Others received punishment ranging from four to 46 months.