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Two indicted for human smuggling
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Posted on May 03 1999
The US federal court indicted on Friday two Chinese nationals on four counts each of alleged human smuggling of 141 illegal immigrants from China aboard a fishing boat which was intercepted by the Coast Guard in international waters believed to heading to Guam.
According to papers filed in court on Saipan, the two allegedly masterminded attempts to bring these undocumented aliens into the US territory for financial gain in violation of federal immigration laws.
This is the first lawsuit against the streams of illegal Chinese immigrants sent to a temporary shelter set up by American troops at the Northfield military base on Tinian and covers the first boatload that arrived April 17 at the San Jose harbor.
The two suspects, Hua Jin Lin, 37, and Shan Hua Huang, 35, were ordered arrested on felony charges of conspiracy to commit offense against the US, attempted alien smuggling for financial gain, attempted alien smuggling to a place other than at designated port, and encouraging and inducing aliens to the United States.
Huang was reportedly the captain or co-captain and Lin, the engineer of the 120-foot boat that sailed from Fujian province in China in the high seas where it was detected by the Coast Guard.
Based on the papers filed by US Attorney Frederick A. Black, the two traveled from Putian, China to meet 141 others aboard smaller boats in Ningbo who then boarded the fishing vessel to sail towards Guam.
Black pointed to at least nine co-conspirators in the lawsuit, but were not identified.
He also claimed the suspects tried to smuggle these immigrants “for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain from certain aliens, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that said aliens had not received prior official authorization” from the US government.
Both Lin and Huang will be represented in court by two lawyers based on Saipan, Joshua Berger and David Banes, respectively.
Nearly 500 undocumented immigrants from China are now housed in a “tent city” on Tinian, awaiting decision by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service as to when they will be repatriated.
