1983 — Feb 19, Shooting deaths (13 of 14), Wah Mee Club, Seattle “Chinatown,” WA– 13

–13  Carter. “Parolee in 1983 Wah Mee massacre deported to Hong Kong.” Seattle Times, 2014.

–13  Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 28.

–13  Haeck. “Remembering a heroic witness 30 years after Wah Mee Massacre.” 2-19-2013.

–13  King, Gary C. “Seattle’s Chinatown Massacre,”  InvestigationDiscovery.com.

 

Narrative Information

 

King: “It was 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 19, 1983 when Benjamin “Bennie” K. Ng, Kwan Fai “Willie” Mak, and Wai-Chiu “Tony” Ng (note: Bennie and Tony Ng are not related) entered the once highly-romanticized Wah Mee Club in the heart of Seattle’s Chinatown, located in the city’s International District. Their purpose for going to the private gambling club that night, which was known for its high stakes betting, was simple — they were there to rob it and its patrons, and to leave no witnesses alive to talk about it.

 

“The club’s security consisted in part of a system that required each patron to pass through multiple doorways, each bringing the patron farther into the establishment. It was a system that had been used in Chinatown gambling halls over many years, and had proven effective. The reason that Mak and his cohorts in crime were able to defeat the system that fateful night was because they were known and trusted by the people who ran the club.

 

“Once inside, the three immigrants from Hong Kong, each in their twenties, ordered the club’s patrons and employees, 14 in all, to lie face down on the floor and bound each of their hands. Afterward, they methodically shot each victim in the head at close range as they lay on the floor, firing a total of 29 shots. Mistakenly believing that everyone was dead, the three men packed up as much money as they could find, but left with only approximately $10,000. Willie Mak, who had been planning the robbery for weeks and had enlisted Benjamin Ng and Tony Ng to help carry out the plans, believed they would bag between $50,000 to $100,000 in the robbery.  As they prepared to flee, none of the men noticed the lone witness who survived, Wai Y. Chin, a frail man from Canton, China who worked at the Wah Mee Club as a dealer making $10-an-hour. Shot in the neck and jaw, Chin had blacked out and had appeared dead to the gunmen. Others say he feigned death to avoid being shot again.

 

“After the men left, Chin managed to free his hands and crawl out the front door. He was soon found by people attempting to gain entry to the club, who promptly notified the police and obtained medical assistance. As soon as Chin’s condition had stabilized and he was able to speak, he positively identified Benjamin Ng and Willie Mak as two of the gunmen. Because his condition was very unstable and at times doctors feared he would die of his injuries, he was asked by police to provide a taped deposition.

 

“During a search of the apartment rented by Benjamin Ng’s girlfriend, detectives discovered a considerable sum of money lying on her bedroom dresser. When asked for an explanation about the money, Ng told the cops that he had earned it as a dealer at another Chinatown gambling establishment, the Hop Sing Club. However, when investigators discovered a shoebox containing more than $10,000 in cash, Ng was unable to explain its source. Similarly, he was unable to explain two handguns, ammunition, and a rifle that detectives found inside the apartment. The cops also learned that Benjamin Ng owed thousands of dollars in gambling debt to the club where he worked.

 

“Benjamin Ng and Willie Mak were charged with 13 counts of aggravated first-degree murder on February 24, 1983. Tony Ng was later identified by other police sources as the third man involved in the crime that quickly became known as Seattle’s Chinatown Massacre, and was charged in absentia on March 30, 1983 with 13 counts of aggravated first-degree murder. Each suspect was also charged with 13 counts of first-degree robbery, among other charges.

 

“On June 15, 1984, Tony Ng was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, but he managed to hide out in Canada until October 4, 1984 when he was arrested in Calgary, Alberta by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

 

“The lone survivor of the massacre, Chin, testified against the defendants in three of Seattle’s highest-profile trials ever, resulting in Benjamin Ng and Willie Mak each being convicted of 13 counts of murder. His testimony included the fact that he had heard one of the gunmen cold-bloodedly ask, “Is that all of the bullets?”

 

“Mak, portrayed as the mastermind, was sentenced to death. Benjamin Ng was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole. Wai-Chiu “Tony” Ng was acquitted of murder, but was convicted of 13 counts of robbery and sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in prison, leaving him eligible for parole. He was also convicted of one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

 

“On February 17, 1987, about a month before Mak’s scheduled execution, the Washington Supreme Court issued a stay of execution. Less than three months later, the same court ruled to allow Mak’s murder convictions to stand. The following year, however, on November 10, 1988, a federal judge delayed Mak’s execution indefinitely, and on January 8, 1991, a U.S. District Court judge overturned Mak’s death sentence on the grounds that his attorneys had failed to present background evidence on their client that may have swayed the jury to spare his life. The following year, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Mak’s death sentence would not be reinstated, and on November 9, 1994, Mak’s request for a new trial was denied by a King County Superior Court judge. The same judge, however, allowed prosecutors to hold a new sentencing hearing. Although the new sentencing hearing was scheduled for September 2002, a King County Superior Court judge ruled against the possibility of a new death sentence on April 29, 2002 because the original jury had not been charged with determining the degree of the role Mak had played in carrying out the crime.

 

“Wai Y. Chin, the lone survivor of the Wah Mee Club massacre and the man responsible for the apprehension and convictions of the suspects, died of natural causes on Monday, May 3, 1993.” (King, Gary C.  “Seattle’s Chinatown Massacre,”  InvestigationDiscovery.com.)

 

Carter: “Wai-Chiu “Tony” Ng, who 31 years ago participated in the worst mass killing in Seattle history, has been deported to Hong Kong following his parole from prison, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Ng, 58, served 28 years for his role in the 1983 murders of 13 people at the Wah Mee Social Club in Seattle’s International District. Ng was released into the custody of agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who escorted him on a commercial flight that left Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Tuesday morning and arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday, according to ICE spokesman Andrew Munoz….

 

“Tony Ng was arrested in Canada and extradited. At trial, he claimed Mak had threatened his family unless he participated in the robbery. Tony Ng has maintained that, while he had a gun, he never shot anyone….

 

“Tony Ng was rejected for parole five times before the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board last year granted his release after months of deliberations. Ng, who came to the U.S. in 1970 looking for a job, agreed to deportation upon release.

 

“Ng was considered a model prisoner and taught drafting to other inmates in the prison industries program. In his spare time, Ng folded delicate origami animals, which were sold to help fund a youth program, according to parole documents….

 

“Prosecutors and relatives and friends of the victims opposed his release. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg has said Ng has “caught some breaks in his favor that he did not deserve” — particularly when it came to how his sentence was determined under the law at the time and through a series of adjustments to his sentence over the years by the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board. Satterberg had urged the review board to consider that had Tony Ng been sentenced under modern determinate-sentencing laws, he would have faced 70 years in prison on the firearm enhancements alone. In the end, however, Satterberg said, the trial jury’s decision not to convict him of the killings “set in motion the possibility of his eventual release.” (Carter. “Parolee in 1983 Wah Mee massacre deported…” Seattle Times, 5-19-2014.)

 

Sources

 

Carter, Mike. “Parolee in 1983 Wah Mee massacre deported to Hong Kong.” Seattle Times, 5-19-2014. Accessed 3-2-2017 at: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/parolee-in-1983-wah-mee-massacre-deported-to-hong-kong/

 

Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007.

 

Haeck, Tim. “Remembering a heroic witness 30 years after Wah Mee Massacre.” KIRO Radio, 2-19-2013. Accessed 3-2-2017 at: http://mynorthwest.com/30333/remembering-a-heroic-witness-30-years-after-wah-mee-massacre/

 

King, Gary C. “Seattle’s Chinatown Massacre.” InvestigationDiscovery.com. 8-6-2009 at:  http://investigation.discovery.com/investigation/where-now/seattle-chinatown-massacre/seattle-chinatown-massacre.html