Man gets year in jail
for fight that ended
in death

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

A Circuit Court judge has rejected a defense attorney's request for probation for a man charged with assaulting another man during a fight last May, resulting in his death.

"The fact remains you were involved in an incident in which a man died," said Circuit Judge John Lim before sentencing Pisaina Tupai, 37, to a year in jail and five years probation, during which he is prohibited from drinking alcohol.

Tupai was also ordered to pay $14,000 restitution to Ronald Ching's family.

In a statement to the court, the Ching family said they are still suffering from the loss of their father and grandfather and are stuck with thousands of dollars in hospital and funeral expenses that could cost them the family home.

Tupai apologized to Ching family members, saying there was no way he could replace their father. He said he acted in self-defense and did not intend for that night to turn out the way it did.

Although he could not have predicted the outcome, "it doesn't obscure the fact that when you drink, you become violent," Lim said, alluding to incidents in Tupai's past that involved alcohol. "If you were not drinking, you would have walked away."

Deputy Public Defender William Bento said that while Tupai has had scrapes with the law in the past, his client was not a danger to the community, is a hard worker who provides for his family and has learned that even minor actions can result in severe consequences.

Tupai initially was charged with manslaughter. He later entered into a plea agreement where he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree assault after questions arose as to what really caused Ching's death, said Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Tashima.

The two men had been drinking with others at a birthday gathering at Campbell Industrial Park when an argument arose over $50 Tupai owed Ching from a friendly crap game.

According to witnesses, Ching grabbed Tupai and struck him first. Tupai punched him back once, causing the older man to fall back and strike his head against a nearby car or on the ground, losing consciousness.