Teen-Ager Says He Only Followed Orders to Kill

A teen-ager accused of masterminding the 1992 New Year’s Eve slaying of a high school honors student testified Wednesday that he helped four other youths bludgeon and bury the victim, but said he was only following orders.

Robert Chan, 19, told an Orange County Superior Court jury that he joined in the slaying because he believed that his home might have been rigged with explosives by the victim, Stuart A. Tay.

“I had to kill him because of the bombs,” said Chan, looking boyish in a pale yellow pullover sweater and gray slacks. “I had to participate in killing him because that was the only way to stop him, prevent him from blowing me up.”

Chan was the ringleader in the plot and thought Tay was about to double-cross him in a planned robbery of a computer salesman, the prosecution alleges.

But according to the defense, Chan is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic who killed Tay because he believed that he must kill or be killed.

Tay, 17, of Orange, first contacted Chan in October, 1992, bragging about his access to high-powered explosives and other weaponry, Chan testified. Tay used an alias and portrayed himself as a 19-year-old crime figure who had more than 100 loyal followers and the ability to pirate computer programs and counterfeit $100 bills, driver’s licenses and credit cards, Chan told jurors.

Chan said Tay had spies at his high school who reported back with personal information, including Chan’s address, details about his clothing, even information about a cheerleader Chan had a crush on.

Tay claimed he was handpicking Chan as an associate he could trust, Chan said.

“He seemed pretty powerful. . . . Obviously, he had the ability to find out information about me,” Chan explained to jurors, adding that he felt he could not refuse to participate in the robbery. “I didn’t want to upset him by saying no.”

Chan testified that he tried to avoid contact with Tay, but said Tay threatened him with a “nasty” surprise. Chan said he later became convinced that his home had been rigged with powerful explosives by Tay and that Tay could kill him at the touch of a button.

Three others charged in the case, Abraham Acosta, 17, of Buena Park, and Mun Bong Kang, 19, and Kirn Young Kim, 18, both of Fullerton, are scheduled to go on trial after Chan’s case concludes. The defendants attended Sunny Hills High School in Fullerton.

Tay, a student at Foothill High School in Santa Ana, was beaten before rubbing alcohol was forced down his throat and his mouth and nose were taped shut. He was buried in Acosta’s back yard.

The key prosecution witness was a fifth assailant, Charles Choe, 18, of Fullerton, who testified that Chan plotted the murder and personally administered the alcohol and taped Tay’s mouth.

But on Wednesday, Chan told jurors that it was Kang’s idea to kill Tay.

The robbery scheme began to unravel, Chan said, when he began to fear a double-cross. When he told the others about his suspicions, he said, Kang suggested killing Tay.

Chan told jurors that Acosta planned the attack and that Acosta and Kang landed the first blows. Chan said he only struck Tay twice and taped his mouth shut at Acosta’s order. He insisted that he did not pour the alcohol down the victim’s throat.