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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, September 18, 2009

Man says he didn't know how old teen who died of alcohol poisoning was


By Jim Dooley
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Michael Clark made his initial appearance in court this morning. Clark, accused of distributing liquor to a 15-year-old girl who died of alcohol poisoning, said he did not know how old Makamae Ah Mook Sang was. At left is Clark's attorney, Brook Hart. At right is Deputy prosecutor Richard Stacey.

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The man accused of supplying liquor to a teenager who died of alcohol poisoning did not know how old the victim was or how much liquor she had consumed, his lawyer said this morning.

Michael D.D. Clark, 24, appeared in District Court to hear charges read against him in the case. He is accused of five counts of supplying alcohol to a minor. All the charges are misdemeanors.
He has deep remorse about what happened,” defense lawyer Brook Hart said.
Makamae Aulii Ah Mook Sang, 15, died in July of acute alcohol poisoning. The Roosevelt High School student had a blood alcohol level of .433, the equivalent of drinking a pint of vodka in an hour, according to authorities.
The tragedy would never have occurred "if he had ever known she was the age she was or that she was consuming as much as she was,” Hart said.
“He is deeply remorseful and very, very sorry,” Hart said as Clark nodded in agreement behind him.,
Hart didn’t want Clark to speak to reporters and said he didn’t want to “try the case in the press.”
Clark, a Hawaii Kai resident, is awaiting sentencing on felony terroristic threatening charges in Circuit Court which grew from an altercation he had with Honolulu police officers at the Ala Moana Hotel July 22, 2007, according to court records.
He was originally charged with two counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer but reached an agreement with prosecutors in that case to plead guilty to the threatening charges.
He has also pleaded guilty to a third misdemeanor count of assault.
Sentencing has been delayed to Sept. 28 before Circuit Judge Richard Pollock. Clark faces up to five years in prison, although he may seek a sentence of five years of probation, according to the plea agreement.
Clark’s defense lawyer in that case, William Harrison, this week filed a motion to have Clark examined by a panel of mental health experts to determine if he suffers from psychiatric problems.
More paperwork is expected to be filed by Harrison on the mental fitness issue, possibly delaying sentecning further.