Figure in International Kidnapping Case Sentenced

A Chinese national involved in the ransom kidnapping of a San Marino youth was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for his role in the crime, which led to a new level of international law enforcement cooperation.

Xu Lin Wang, 27, his hands shackled to his waist, stood silently as U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew delivered the sentence. Lew said he took into account the fact that the hostage--the son of a wealthy Taiwanese developer--was only 17 years old at the time and much smaller than his two captors.

“I do see him as a vulnerable victim,” the judge said.

Wang’s cohort, Xue Han Wang, 26, has already pleaded guilty to helping abduct Kuan Nan “Johnny” Chen last December and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Charlaine Olmedo, who prosecuted the case, said she was pleased with the sentence. Xu Lin Wang’s attorney, Richard Novak, declined to comment.

A San Marino High School student, Chen spent 18 days in a rundown Temple City home after he was abducted at gunpoint and held for a $1.5-million ransom. Both Wangs guarded him during his captivity, court records show.

Inside the home, Chen was chained to a bed and at times had his eyes and mouth covered with duct tape, authorities said. Chen was beaten over the head after he tried to escape on the second day of his ordeal.

The teenager was rescued by FBI agents and other law enforcement officials who burst into the home in an early morning raid last January.

In court Monday, Xu Lin Wang’s attorney acknowledged that his client had faced an uphill battle.

“The evidence was overwhelming,” Novak told the judge. “This is a case where the government certainly held all the cards.”

Authorities said the Chen kidnapping led to a breakthrough in law enforcement work by agencies in the United States, Taiwan and China. The international cooperation was the first of its kind, they said, and resulted in arrests on both sides of the Pacific and a solid case.

The investigation involved officials from the FBI, China’s Ministry of Public Security and Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau. Their dealings were particularly sensitive because China and Taiwan do not maintain diplomatic relations.

Chen was alone when he was abducted from his San Marino home. His father, Fu Shun Chen, was on a business trip in Taiwan, where he was contacted by the kidnappers with their ransom demand. They ordered him to bring the money to a location in Fujian province in China.

He immediately notified San Marino police, authorities said. The other law enforcement agencies then joined in the investigation.

By tracing telephone calls and exchanging leads with Chinese police, FBI agents were ultimately able to raid the darkened home where the younger Chen was bound and gagged.

Simultaneously, two other alleged kidnappers were arrested in China.

In all, authorities said, four suspects have been arrested by Chinese police. They are scheduled to be tried in China, authorities said. Two of their accomplices are still at large.

On Monday, Fu Shun Chen declined through a spokesman to comment on the case or the sentencing of Wang.