Ye Fang
YE Fang aka “Batu,” who is wanted by the CNMI Department of Public Safety, has been arrested in Palau for his involvement in a homicide case, Palau’s Island Times reported on Friday.
Fang, 41, along with two other Chinese nationals, was arrested for the homicide of a tour guide, the Island Times said.
Fang and his co-defendants appeared before Palau Supreme Court Judge Lourdes F. Materne for an arraignment Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, in criminal case 24-001.
Fang and two other suspects, Li Songyan, 22, and Xinyu Li, 23 were arrested in the evening of Jan. 3. A fourth suspect, Qui Min Yu, a woman, was also expected to be arrested, Palau’s Bureau of Public Safety told Islands Times.
According to the Island Times, the body of the victim, 37-year-old Peng Li, was found burned in the Ewall area on Dec. 21, 2023.
A witness reported seeing a black van leaving the fire scene and provided a photo of the license plate, the Island Times states, adding that police used this information to identify and track the suspects.
“The motive for the attack remains unclear. The suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” the Island Times stated.
Guam Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Nine conducted an autopsy and stated that the victim’s death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head. He said the victim could have been dead for at least 24 hours before the body was burned.
Nine flew to Palau after Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. asked Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero to assist in the investigation.
According to the Island Times, “The Chinese government has requested information about Li’s death and nationality. Palau’s Minister of State Gustav Aitaro stated that with the medical examiner’s confirmation and victim identification, details will be forwarded to the Chinese Embassy in Pohnpei.”
Arrest warrant in the CNMI
In the CNMI, on Nov. 15, 2022, Superior Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan issued an arrest warrant for Fang, who was wanted for theft, trafficking, and illegal possession of a controlled substance. The judge set Fang’s bail at $100,000.
In December, a video that circulated on social media depicted images of weapons while another showed Fang apparently strangulating another individual.
According to DPS, “The weapons in [the first] video are accounted for and the weapons are currently registered in the CNMI. The owner of the weapons is the husband of the female individual in the video.”
DPS added, “The female individual took that video two years ago and that video was not … a public threat nor was that directed at any law enforcement [officer]. The female individual was showcasing … the weapons that she [would] use to protect her and her husband because they had received a threat from Ye Fang…. We had a couple of translators translating the video and the video was basically saying that ‘this is what I have,’ and the context of the video was meant for Ye Fang.”
DPS said Ye Fang had been known to make threats to Chinese community members, “for them to be quiet. But we have no information regarding Ye Fang threatening anyone.”
As for the second video, DPS said it was taken five years ago.
