The source said Cheng was ordered released even before she could be brought to the police station for questioning.
“It’s frustrating for politics to come into [our line of work]. One phone call and she was released even before she could be interviewed by an investigator. We were told she was going to massage the governor,” the source said.
Cheng’s arrest for solicitation should have been recorded by the Department of Corrections but the source said he wouldn’t be surprised if the incident was expunged from official documents.
Last Jan. 8, Cheng, already a federal detainee, was released upon Fitial’s order so she could perform a massage on the governor.
Fitial said he was in pain at the time.
The governor underwent a series of spine surgeries in 2006 and 2007 in California due to spinal stenosis — the narrowing of the root cells in his spinal column.
He said he continues to experience severe back pain.
“The governor chose not to take painkillers from the onset to ease his pain, and has been undergoing massage therapy by different masseuses for several years, since January 2007, after his two major spinal surgeries on October and December 2006. The masseuse, federal detainee Qingmei Cheng, has been providing massage therapy to the governor prior to her arrest and detention. Her fees were paid through the company she worked for,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.
According to Fitial, Corrections Commissioner Dolores M. Aldan, three other corrections officers “as well as my wife were present for the duration of Qing’s visit.”
U.S. Assistant Attorney Eric O’Malley said the governor’s case is not yet a criminal matter.
“We just want to get to the bottom of what happened and why it happened,” he said.
“If a criminal case is warranted, we’re not afraid to do that,” he added.
An evidentiary hearing was supposed to be held last Friday, but U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Alex Munson rescheduled it for Feb. 17 upon the request of the CNMI Attorney General’s Office for additional time to review the basis of the evidentiary hearing and to file appropriate pleadings.
The governor and other CNMI officials who were directly involved in Cheng’s release were also summoned by the court.
Munson told the parties to file relevant motions by Jan. 22.
The U.S. government should file its opposition by Jan. 29 and a reply from the governor should be filed in federal court by Feb. 5.
