DPS links murder to organized crime

Police are now looking into the possible connection of organized crime syndicate Hong Kong Triad to the murder of 33-year-old Hong Kong Chinese Kim Fai Tse early Monday morning.

Two unidentified men wearing ski mask gunned down Mr. Tse and injured his woman companion during a dawn attack at a restaurant in Chalan Piao.

Initial investigation showed that Mr. Tse suffered at least four gunshot wounds. One bullet hit his stomach and another one his neck.

The 35-year-old woman who was with Mr. Tse during the attack at BBQ Restaurant at around 4:00 a.m. remains confined in the Commonwealth Health Center recovering from the gunshot wounds she sustained during the shooting. She has been given a 24-hour security by the police.

Mr. Tse, a regular customer at the restaurant, was eating when unidentified men armed with short firearms fatally shot him.

Police said the victim worked as an assistant manager for Pacific Century International Inc., which operates a retail store, a coffee shop, and a beauty parlor.

“We are still gathering evidence but the information that we have been getting is quite scary because of the possible connection of the incident with the Asian organized crime,” a police investigator said. Although the police are still gathering more information about Mr. Tse, investigators noticed that the victim’s body was mostly covered with tattoo.

The Department of Public Safety has expressed concern on information about the alleged operation of organized crime syndicates in the island. “Although we do not have yet any hard evidence to prove that the Triads are now operating here, we have been alerted by the police organizations in neighboring Asian countries about the extent of influence of this powerful group,” the police investigator said.

DPS has been contacting various international police organizations in Asia including South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines for easy access to information and intelligence gathering.

“You have here an incident where two gunmen calmly walked into a restaurant and start shooting someone . What is Saipan turning into?” a ranking police officer said. There were about 12 customers inside the restaurant when the killers opened fire at Mr. Tse sending them to scamper for safety.

The existence of Triads is most extensively documented in Hong Kong where the number of Triad members is estimated to be in the tens of thousands and to a lesser extent in Taiwan.

The Royal Hong Kong Police estimate that there are currently about 50 triad societies in Hong Kong. Triad’s main criminal activities are extortion, drug trafficking, loan-sharking, credit card fraud and video piracy.

Operation of Triad members constitute both domestic and international activities such as illegal gambling, extortion and prostitution which often have an international element.
Prostitutes are imported or smuggled, sometimes against their will over national borders while proceeds from illegal domestic activities such as gambling are often laundered internationally.