Judge orders trial in hazing case

A Pennsylvania judge has determined that there is enough evidence for prosecutors to proceed in bringing criminal charges against five Baruch College fraternity members charged with killing a Chinese-American pledge during a hazing ritual.

Magisterial District Judge Richard Claypool issued the ruling on Monday following testimony from Pocono Mountain police detective Robert Miller and one of the defendants, Daniel Li.

Li, a 23-year-old from Queens who faces third-degree murder charges along with four fellow Pi Delta Psi fraternity members in the December 2013 death of Chun "Michael" Deng, said in Monday's court proceedings that the Baruch chapter of the fraternity encouraged hazing rituals.

Li, the former president of the Pi Delta Psi chapter at the New York City college, which bills itself as an Asian-American cultural fraternity, was called as a surprise witness in the case.

The other defendants are Charles Lai, 24; Kenny Kwan, 26; Raymond Lam, 22; and Sheldon Wong, 23, all from the borough of Queens, New York.

Todd Greenberg, Lam's attorney, told China Daily on Tuesday: "To sustain a murder charge, the Commonwealth [of Pennsylvania] has to show a 'depraved indifference to human life.' And that intent simply does not exist in this case where the death was accidental."

Lam and four others now await arraignment in a higher court, Greenberg said.

Representation for the four other defendants could not be reached for comment.

In his Monday testimony at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Li told prosecutors that the national office of his former fraternity publicly pretended to condemn hazing.

A special fraternity e-mail address was used to notify the main office if a pledge was seriously injured during hazing, which allowed the organization to come up with an explanation. Pledges were encouraged to lie to police if questioned, Li added.

Deng, 19, died of brain damage and other injuries inflicted in December 2013 during a pledging ritual known as the "glass ceiling" at a rented home in the Pocono Mountain region of Pennsylvania.

Blindfolded and wearing a 30-pound back pack, Deng was tackled repeatedly and slammed to the ground, prosecutors said. The "glass ceiling" gauntlet is intended to symbolize the difficulties Asian-Americans experience in battling prejudice.

Li, who witnessed the final moments of Deng's hazing, said the victim staggered to his feet after being tackled by Lai. Shortly afterward, Kwan crashed into him with a 15-20 foot running start.

"His back hit the ground. He did not get up," Li said. "He was making slight, groaning sounds."

Li told defense lawyers that he did not have authority to stop the "glass ceiling" ritual but others did.

The five are the last remaining defendants to be charged and face the most serious charges of the 37 people accused in connection with Deng's death.

Reuters contributed to this story.

jackfreifelder@chinadailyusa.com