4 Ex-Fraternity Members Get Jail in Hazing Death

Описание: (9 Jan 2018) Four New York City men were given jail sentences Monday in the death of a 19-year-old fraternity pledge during a 2013 hazing ritual in Pennsylvania, with a judge saying she believes they succumbed to "brainwashing" and "indoctrination" that is rampant at fraternities around the nation.
Baruch College freshman Chun "Michael" Deng was blindfolded, forced to wear a heavy backpack and then repeatedly tackled as part of the fraternity's Crossing Over initiation ceremony. He was knocked unconscious and later died at a hospital.
Police charged 37 people with crimes ranging from aggravated assault to hazing to third-degree murder.
The four defendants sentenced Monday, Kenny Kwan, Charles Lai, Raymond Lam and Sheldon Wong, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, hindering apprehension and other charges.
Kwan got 12 to 24 months in county jail. Lam and Wong were sentenced to 10 to 24 months each. Lai, who spent 342 days in jail after he was unable to make bail, was sentenced to time served.
All four defendants apologized, a few of them tearfully.
Earlier Monday, the Pi Delta Psi fraternity was banned from Pennsylvania for 10 years and was ordered to pay a fine of more than $110,000 for its role in Deng's death.
The judge and a prosecutor slammed Pi Delta Psi for calling itself a victim of rogue fraternity members, saying the fraternity tolerated and even encouraged hazing for years.
Pi Delta Psi has 25 chapters in 11 states, including one at Penn State University that will now have to be disbanded.
In a written statement, Pi Delta Psi, an Asian-American cultural fraternity founded in 1994, said its now-disbanded Baruch College chapter brought "shame and dishonor" to the national fraternity.
Pi Delta Psi's attorney, Wes Niemoczynski, argued that Pi Delta Psi had developed a "no excuses" hazing policy before Deng's death but said the policy worked on the "honor system" and proved to be inadequate.
The defendants sentenced Monday faced the most serious charges. Dozens of other defendants have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to probation.


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