honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, June 21, 2003

Singapore man charged in smuggling of woman

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A 42-year-old man from Singapore has been charged with attempting to smuggle a 31-year-old woman from the People's Republic of China into the United States via Honolulu International Airport on Monday.

Eng Soon Ng, who faces federal alien smuggling charges, appears to be part of an organized smuggling ring and likely smuggled two other women into the United States in December and March, according to a statement filed in federal court by a senior immigration inspector.

According to the statement, Ng, his 2-year-old son, and the woman from China, Li Geng Weng, were traveling on Singapore passports and presented themselves as a family when they attempted to clear an immigration.

Even before they arrived, a computer check had alerted authorities that the trio required close scrutiny.

When officials attempted to question the woman, Ng interrupted them, saying she came from a poor family and could not speak English, unlike most Singapore residents, according to the statement.

While being questioned by inspectors about her reasons for traveling to Hawai'i, Weng admitted she was not married to Ng, was not the boy's mother and that her family in China had arranged to pay others associated with Ng to smuggle her to Hawai'i, according to the statement.

She told officials that Ng was to help her purchase a ticket to New York after arriving in Hawai'i and that she planned to find a job in New York's Chinatown once she got there.

Weng told inspectors that she spent several days in Singapore with Ng and his son so the boy would be familiar with her and would learn to call her "mama," according to the statement.