HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Two Chinese boaters who were accused of making an illegal entry to Guam to avoid immigration processes were spared time in prison after pleading guilty.
More than a year after several Chinese nationals were charged in connection to making an illegal entry to Guam by boat, two of them pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of Guam on Tuesday morning.
The two to plead were Ruigang Li and Zhicong Huang before Presiding Judge Alberto Lamorena III.
The terms of the plea agreement, which were identical involved Li and Huang pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges and as a result being ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and complete community service hours.
Both were sentenced to one year in prison, however the time was suspended.
Additionally, in Li’s case he was ordered to stay away from Hågatña Boat Basin.
Entries
Li and Huang’s agreements were similar due to the facts of the case being similar, but they arrived at different times last year.
Li, who according to court documents, arrived on July 8, 2022 told police he drove a boat with seven other individuals who all pooled their money to pay $22,000 for the vessel. The occupants took turns driving the boat but Li was the captain.
An individual in Li’s group told police they didn’t know anyone in Guam and when they were asked about employment, the person said, “Most of us do anything like landscaping, cleaning and cooking,” documents state.
In Huang’s case, although he was the last of nine Chinese nationals to be charged, he arrived to Ritidian Point by boat on April 19. Huang and another man told officers they traveled from Rota to Guam but their passports were in the custody of Saipan immigration officials.
According to court documents, Huang further stated he alone piloted an inflatable skiff and communicated with people in Guam prior to the landing.
Huang and Li were both charged with failure to acquire clearance requirements, failure to deliver a manifest to a customs officer and prohibited unloading as misdemeanors.
Swimwear and food and drink containers are seen discarded near the area where an abandoned boat is marked with caution tape in Tumon Bay on July 6. Officials said the vessel is one example of evidence of increased illegal entry into Guam.
Ruigang Li
Zhicong Huang
