2 convicted for beating up man at motel

Two of three men charged for ganging up on a man inside a store at a Garapan motel entered a guilty plea yesterday in Superior Court.

Luo Fang, 31, and Yong Luo, 33, signed a plea agreement with the government and pleaded guilty to assault and battery.

Associate Judge David A. Wiseman accepted the plea and sentenced Luo Fang to one year in prison, all suspended except for 52 days, with credit for the time he had already served in jail.

Wiseman sentenced Yong Luo to one year in prison, all suspended except for 13 days, with credit for the time he had already served in jail.

The judge placed the defendants on one-year probations.

The defendants were each required to pay a $250 fine, plus court assessment and probation fees.

The defendants, along with Sheng Sheng Wang, were originally charged with aggravated assault and battery and other charges.

The Attorney General’s Office filed on Monday a second amended information charging the defendants with only assault and battery.

The trial was supposed to start yesterday, but Luo Fang and Yong Luo decided to enter a guilty plea. Sheng Sheng Wang is also expected to enter a guilty plea.

Luo Fang was with counsel Thomas Clifford, while Luo Yong was represented by attorney Mark Hanson. Assistant attorney general Rebecca M. Warfield represented the government.

The plea agreement stated that on May 23, 2005 the defendants beat up and wounded Jun Chen.

According to police, the beating perpetrated by the defendants and three others happened inside JD Store II on the ground floor of the Joy Motel.

Chen suffered two lacerations on his head and bruises on his arms, right hand, stomach, and back.

The three defendants, all employees of a karaoke parlor, were arrested a few days later.

According to police in court papers, the six men, said to be members of a Fujian group, arrived at the Joy Motel and started beating up Chen inside JD Store, which is located on the ground floor of the motel.

One was armed with a handgun concealed in a piece of paper, while the two others were holding a golf club and a metal pipe.

Police said that when they interviewed Chen in the hospital, he said he didn’t know the reason why the group ganged up on him.

A few years ago, armed members of the so-called Fujian group were active on Saipan, beating up their victims, mostly Chinese businessmen, as part of a robbery-extortion racket.