Kin fight parole in ‘83 massacre

SEATTLE — Relatives and friends of 13 people shot to death in the 1983 Chinatown massacre cried and showed photos of the victims at a parole hearing Wednesday for a man convicted of robbery and assault for his role in what the King County prosecutor called one of Seattle’s most heinous crimes.

“How many times do we have to go through this? How many times do we have to grieve?” asked Linda Mar, whose parents were both killed in the Feb. 19, 1983, killings at the Wah Mee gambling club. She said the crime was shocking and destructive not only to her family but to the whole community.

Hazel Chin, whose father was killed, said she re-experiences some of the pain each time one of his assailants is back in court.

“This is an emotional and touchy subject for me,” she said through tears. Chin asked parole board members to put themselves in her shoes before making their decision.

Wai Chiu “Tony” Ng was acquitted of murder and convicted of 13 counts of first-degree robbery and one count of second-degree assault and sentenced to serve seven consecutive life terms.

The judge set a minimum of five years for the first seven robbery counts. The parole board has paroled him on the first five counts and is considering the sixth count.

Two co-defendants were convicted of aggravated murder in the killings. Benjamin Ng, no relation to Tony Ng, and Kwan Fai “Willie” Mak are serving life sentences without the chance of parole.

Several of the victims’ family members said before the hearing began that this was the first time they had been notified and given an opportunity to testify during one of Tony Ng’s parole hearings. They asked several victims’ advocates why they hadn’t been contacted the first five times the parole board considered Ng’s case, and one advocate brought that question to the parole board.

Three panel members gathered testimony from the relatives in advance of a hearing scheduled next Wednesday with Ng at the McNeil Island Correctional Facility. A decision on his parole will be announced a month to six weeks after that hearing, said Jeri Costa, chairwoman of the parole board,

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng urged the parole board to stop helping Ng work his way through the system.

“Tony Ng has received an extraordinary series of breaks,” Maleng said, outlining the history of the case from Ng’s initial flight to Canada, to a promise by the United States not to seek the death penalty, to actions by previous members of the parole board.

“We ask that this march toward freedom, toward parole be halted,” Maleng said, adding that if Ng had been sentenced under today’s sentencing guidelines, he would be sentenced to 84 years in prison.

Maleng urged the parole board to increase his time rather than decrease it, taking into consideration the seriousness of the crime rather than his behavior in prison.

Jason Loui, whose stepfather was killed, said he was teaching his 21-month-old daughter the consequences of her actions. He urged the parole board to do the same for Ng.

“Here is something we need to make right,” Loui said. “Your job is to teach Tony Ng the consequences he made are for life.”