Woman gets 18 months in prison for ‘ice’ possession

A 37-year-old woman accused of selling methamphetamine or “ice” who pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal possession of controlled substance was slapped with an 18-month prison term.

Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman gave Xiu Hui Wang, also known as Sister, credit for five months and 14 days of time served. Wang is expected to complete her prison term on Nov. 14, 2016. She was also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and $100 court assessment fee.

Wang, who has no criminal record, has admitted wrongdoing and promised not to repeat her mistake.

As part of the plea agreement, assistant attorney general Emily Cohen moved to drop the two counts of trafficking of a controlled substance. The court granted the motion.

Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig, who represented Wang, said there is no reason for her to spend any more time in prison and no reason for her to spend more than a full year in prison.

Hartig said Wang is an uneducated, simple, unsophisticated young woman who made a terrible mistake and was misled by someone she did not know.

Hartig said Wang will be deported and never allowed to live or work in the country of her choosing.

According to Hartig, a neighbor who left for China had asked Wang to keep a box for her with some unknown items in it until she returned. An unidentified man then came to Wang’s home to get the contents of that box after her neighbor failed to return to the CNMI.

The man removed a small packet and gave Wang money, which she sent to China as instructed by the man. The man then gave Wang another packet, waited for a phone call, and did the money-for-packet exchange again, sending the money to the former neighbor in China.

Hartig said Wang was later arrested without incident.

“Ms. Wang admits to her wrongdoing but cannot in anything but the strictest of tests be considered a drug dealer. She is rather a shy, simple country woman who was manipulated,” Hartig said.

Wang used to work in garment factories. After the factories closed, she became a waitress and recently worked at a massage parlor. She grew up in Anhui province, one of the poorest provinces in China. She has a daughter, who is now 15 years old who lives with Wang’s mother.

CNMI Drug Enforcement Task Force arrested Wang last May 13 along with three other Chinese nationals for allegedly engaging in “ice” trafficking.

Police said a cooperating source managed to buy $180 worth of “ice” from Wang at the cooperating source’s residence on Capital Hill last April 15 and $180 worth of “ice” the following day.