Taiwanese Police Arrest Suspect Sought in 1988 Slaying in Monterey Park

A gunman walked into a crowded restaurant in Monterey Park early one morning last November and fatally shot a 40-year-old Taiwanese man.

By last month, Monterey Park police detectives had tracked their suspect to Taipei.

With the help of Taiwanese diplomats in Los Angeles who sent crime reports by telex to Taiwan, and with the assistance of a Mandarin-speaking Monterey Park police reserve officer on vacation in Taipei, Taiwanese police found the suspect and put him under surveillance.

On Tuesday, police arrested Huang Chue Ming, 35, at Taipei International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to the Philippines.

Monterey Park police said Huang has denied killing Hsu Chia Liang at the Sea Palace Restaurant on South Atlantic Boulevard.

According to an article in last Thursday’s Chinese-language Centre Daily News published in Monterey Park, Huang told Taiwanese police that five other men committed the crime.

Moy said that there have been many theories about the motive for the killing, but that “we have nothing concrete.”

Lived in Monterey Park

Moy declined to provide details about the victim, Hsu, or his family members, some of whom still live in the San Gabriel Valley. He did say that the suspect and the victim had been in contact before the shooting and that Hsu had lived in Monterey Park for several years.

There is no extradition from Taiwan to the United States. The United States severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979. Nevertheless, authorities say, Taiwan will likely prosecute Huang for the Monterey Park homicide. Although this procedure is unusual, it is not unheard of.

“(Taiwanese officials) just don’t like the idea of people leaving their country going around committing crimes,” Monterey Park Detective Jones Moy said.

Interviewed 45 Witnesses

Authorities noted that detectives from Monterey Park and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had assisted in the Taiwanese prosecution of a killing that occurred earlier in Southern California.

In the case of Hsu’s killing, Moy and former Police Chief Robert Collins, who retired in February but who continued to help in the investigation, have spent months interviewing 45 witnesses.

No weapon has yet been found in what was one of seven homicides reported in the city last year. And many of the 40 to 50 patrons at the Sea Palace Restaurant fled before police arrived shortly after the 1 a.m. shooting.

At first, Collins said, “everybody denied seeing anything.” Many of the patrons were of Asian descent, Moy said, and this contributed to their reluctance to speak with police. Often, police say, newcomers from Asia see police in terms of their homelands, where law enforcement officers are viewed more as protectors of the government rather than as crime fighters.

The reluctance of some witnesses, Moy said, also resulted from the same hesitancy that anyone has. “They just don’t want to get involved,” he said.

Eventually, though, police developed enough information to pursue Huang.

During 1987 and 1988, police said, Huang lived at a number of locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley. But there was nothing on his record more serious than traffic violations, Moy said.

Suspect Denies Killing

Last month, Moy first contacted Taiwanese officials in the Los Angeles office of the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, which functions as Taiwan’s quasi-embassy.

Later that month, Winston Yuen, a Monterey Park police reserve, visited Taipei police and explained the murder case in detail.

Unsure How Case Will Proceed

Monterey Park police said they are unsure how Taiwanese officials will handle the case. And because of the 15-hour time difference, police by Thursday had only been able to talk with Taiwanese authorities a few times to sort out details.

Liang-Houh Shieh, a Los Angeles attorney who once represented criminal defendants in Taiwan, explained that there is no arraignment comparable to the American legal system.

He said a judge decides whether a suspect should be charged and whether bail is allowed. There is no jury trial, only trial by a judge, Shieh said. Penalties are generally stiffer, he said, and defendants have fewer rights than those afforded in America.

“Of course, the legal system is not 100% like it is here,” said Daniel T. C. Liao of the coordination council. “But we’re happy to be able to help American officials fight crime.”

In the end, Liao said, if Monterey Park police aren’t satisfied with the results in Taiwan, “I don’t know how they will close their case” since there is no extradition.

Said Collins: “It’s hard for us, since we’re here and (the suspect) is there.”