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Cab driver gets time-served sentence
The federal court has imposed an eight-day time-served sentence on a cab driver who turned out to be an overstaying tourist and was found with a fake CNMI driver’s license.
Cong Chen, a Chinese national, shall also serve six months of supervised release.
At a change of plea hearing Monday afternoon, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona barred the 28-year-old Chen from possessing a controlled substance and to refrain from using illegal drugs.
Manglona suspended the drug testing condition based on her determination that Chen poses a low risk of future substance abuse.
As a further condition of his supervised release, Chen must pay a $100 in special assessment fee.
After the hearing, the defendant was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal for his release.
At the hearing, assistant U.S. attorney Eric S. O’Malley and court-appointed defense counsel Benjamin Petersburg, both recommended that Chen be sentenced to time served.
O’Malley also informed the court that Chen will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Chen pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting fraud as part of a plea deal.
Chen, through an interpreter, said he came to Saipan as a tourist in April 2017 and extended his stay. He admitted that he paid $1,200 to obtain a CNMI driver’s license.
Assistant U.S. attorney O’Malley said that a Federal Protective Service inspector saw Chen illegally park in Garapan last Nov. 28. When the FPS inspector confronted Chen, he presented what appeared to be a fake CNMI driver’s license.
