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Death in federal jail
raises questions
of cover-up
Relatives of a Taiwanese national
dispute the official determination
that he killed himself
A Taiwanese national found hanging from a bunk in a Honolulu jail cell last year was being investigated for suspicion of spying, several relatives say.
The government classified the death of Chen Chi Huang, 58, as a suicide.
The man behind the mystery
Name: Chen Chi Huang
Citizenship: Taiwan Age: 58 Family: Wife, three sons, all living on Oahu Business: Importing/exporting tropical fish, antiques, other goods Arrested: April 12, 2003, after arriving at Honolulu Airport from Taiwan via Japan Discovered: April 20, 2003, hanging from top bunk in cell at Federal Detention Center Died: April 24, 2003, at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi Federal investigation: Ongoing
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"I don't believe the government is partly responsible," said Oahu resident Aurex Huang, 32, a nephew of Huang. "I think it's their fault completely."
The story behind Huang's death is filled with so many inconsistencies and questions that some doubt a clear picture will ever emerge publicly, continuing a mystery that has triggered talk of espionage, international intrigue, government cover-ups -- even murder.
The biggest question among Huang's relatives and others is why a successful Taiwanese businessman who came to Hawaii to see his high-school son graduate with top honors would allegedly hang himself at the Federal Detention Center, a month before the graduation.
Huang was taken directly to the prison from Honolulu Airport after arriving on a China Airlines flight from Taiwan on April 12, 2003. Eight days later, an inmate discovered Huang hanging by a bedsheet attached to the top bunk in his cell, according to the autopsy report.
He was rushed to the hospital in a coma and died four days later, never having regained consciousness.
The federal government has said little about the case since the Star-Bulletin first reported on it in February. At that time, immigration officials wouldn't even disclose the specifics of why Huang was arrested. All they said was that he was detained for allegedly violating immigration law.
A federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman confirmed last week that her agency and the FBI still were investigating the case, but she couldn't provide any details, including what was being investigated. The FBI wouldn't acknowledge the existence of an investigation.
Huang traveled frequently to Honolulu because his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and their three sons live here. The family owns a Salt Lake condo that the couple purchased in 1988. They also owned two Oahu TCBY yogurt shops, both of which Huang purchased with cash, his relatives said.
Government documents the Star-Bulletin recently obtained show that Huang was jailed for trying to enter the country without an immigrant visa and a proper labor certification -- alleged infractions that, by themselves, shouldn't have led to his incarceration, several immigration attorneys told the newspaper. He had a tourist visa when he arrived.
A U.S. immigration official said Huang's detention was by the book and not unusual.
"They were following the guidance for holding a person pending appearance" before an immigration judge, said Jim Kosciuk, acting assistant port director in Honolulu for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Although Huang had a tourist visa, he intended to work in Hawaii, but didn't have the proper certification, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security documents, obtained by the Star-Bulletin through a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents also said Huang intended to apply for permanent U.S. residency but didn't have the correct visa.
"To my knowledge, that's not out of the ordinary" to detain someone for those alleged infractions, Kosciuk said.
Huang usually traveled at least five or six times a year to Hawaii and, with the exception of one minor visa snafu in the early 1990s, never had any trouble entering this country, his relatives said.
If the visa issue was Huang's only problem when he arrived from Taiwan last year, the worst penalty he faced was being sent back home -- hardly something to commit suicide over, his relatives say.
Immigration attorney Ronald Oldenburg said many foreign travelers come to Hawaii without the proper paperwork but usually aren't incarcerated, especially if they are not considered flight risks, have no criminal record and aren't likely to become a financial ward of the government. Huang seemed to fit that profile.
If someone had a valid tourist visa, as Huang did, the government typically would allow the person into the country on a parole status and schedule a later hearing to address the paperwork problem, according to Oldenburg, who is not connected with the Huang case. Sometimes the government would require the person to post a bond before being released at the airport, he said.
"There is something that they haven't told you that caused the government to detain him," Oldenburg said after examining the Huang documents at the Star-Bulletin's request. "As far as I can see, there's no legal reason based on the allegations (in the documents) that would put him in federal detention. It just doesn't follow."
But another immigration attorney, Gary Singh, suggested the government may have acted out of caution.
Authorities here deal with cases in which Taiwanese nationals have entry problems, post large bonds so they can be released, then never show for their court hearings, said Singh, who also is not connected to the Huang case. "The government could easily justify this detention," he said.
Aside from the immigration issues, the relatives' belief that Huang was the target of a national security investigation makes the case even more intriguing, though no federal agency has publicly confirmed -- or ruled out -- an espionage connection.
Two of Huang's elder sisters, who live on Oahu, said they first heard about a national security connection while Huang was hospitalized, then again after his death.
One brother who came from Chicago during the family crisis told Yueng Huang, 74, the oldest sister, that he learned Chen Chi Huang was being investigated for possible spying, but that's all the information he, Huang's wife and an attorney friend got from a government office, Yueng Huang said through an interpreter.
After learning about the national security link, Benjamin Huang cut short his Honolulu visit and returned to Chicago, Yueng Huang and her nephew said. "He didn't want to get involved," Aurex Huang said.
Benjamin Huang could not be reached for comment.
The two sisters and the nephew disputed the possibility that Chen Chi Huang was doing anything that could compromise U.S. national security.
Huang ran an import-export business that dealt mainly in tropical fish, and in recent years he also started selling antiques, his relatives said. He did not have ties to Taiwan's military or government, they said.
"We really don't know where that (spying allegation) came from," Aurex Huang said. "From our view, it's totally ridiculous."
Following Huang's death, his Honolulu siblings tried to learn more about the case, even hiring a lawyer, but they got nowhere, the family said. Authorities refused to release information to them because they are not considered immediate family, the relatives said.
Adding to the intrigue, the Hawaii relatives and Huang's wife have stopped talking since his funeral, even though she knows more about the case, the relatives said. Because of disagreements over Huang's burial and other issues, relations between the two sides have been strained, the relatives added.
"We wanted to get involved, we wanted to find out what happened," Aurex Huang said. "But we were being pushed out."
Huang's wife, Nicole Huang, declined comment, noting that attorneys advised her not to fight the federal government, especially the FBI. She also said she wanted to protect her children. "The FBI put a lot of pressure on me and my kids," she said, without elaborating.
Alan Ma, who represented Huang during his detention, also declined comment. Ma said he no longer represents the family.
The fact that federal authorities are still investigating this case nearly 20 months after Huang died, and after his death was ruled a suicide, fuels speculation about what happened.
The city Medical Examiner's Office in May 2003 said Huang died from asphyxia due to a suicide hanging. It said a suicide note was found in his cell.
A year later, the prison bureau said it could not respond to the newspaper's Freedom of Information request for the suicide note and other documents because they were part of an ongoing investigation.
An FBI spokesman had said in February that his agency conducted an inquiry and ruled out foul play.
Yet the fact that the FBI still is looking into the case only adds to the mystery.
The main mystery: What is being investigated?
Attorneys say it is odd that a multi-agency probe is continuing so long after a suicide ruling.
Many other oddities are linked to the case, adding to the suspicions that Huang's relatives have about what actually happened -- and whether a suicide really occurred. Though they have no evidence, the relatives said they believe Huang was murdered and question whether the government is involved in a cover-up.
"There was no way he would have killed himself," Aurex Huang said.
Yueng Huang, who as the oldest of eight children raised Chen Chi Huang, the youngest, said the suicide note found in her brother's cell didn't appear to be in his handwriting. She said she briefly saw a copy Huang's wife had, and the parts she saw mentioned leaving money to his wife and that he loved his sons.
The relatives also said the wife was told by a woman physician at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, where Huang was taken from the prison, that his case didn't seem to be a suicide. They didn't know the physician's name.
A hospital spokeswoman said the hospital is prohibited from releasing information in a patient's file, including a physician's name.
The way the Huang case was handled at the government-to-government level raises more questions.
The Taiwan government office in Honolulu said it usually is notified immediately whenever an arriving Taiwanese national is taken into custody at the airport. But the office said it wasn't contacted in the Huang case until after he hanged himself, prompting the top Taiwan official locally to write a letter to the U.S. government questioning whether Huang was treated properly during his incarceration.
Huang's relatives also are puzzled by a statement in the Homeland Security documents that indicated Huang only had $100 when he was detained. He always carried a lot of cash, especially when traveling, because he hardly used credit cards, the relatives said.
They said when Huang came to Hawaii, he usually would bring thousands of dollars but never more than $10,000, the level triggering cash-reporting requirements for travelers entering the United States.
Huang would bring the cash for his family, but he also would send money while he was away, his relatives said. Several months before he arrived last year, Huang wired about $70,000 to his family, the relatives said.
They also said Huang's behavior and the topics he discussed in the days, weeks and months before his death indicated he was looking forward to the future -- something not consistent with someone considering suicide.
Huang talked about shutting his Taiwan business and moving to Hawaii so he could spend more time with his family, according to Yueng Huang.
He was especially proud of his middle son, who graduated a month after Huang's death as co-valedictorian at Moanalua High School. "My uncle always bragged about his middle son and how well he was doing," Aurex Huang said.
The last time his lawyer saw Huang alive, Huang was in good spirits, his sisters said, and he talked about what he wanted to do when released from jail -- dye his white hair and enjoy time with his sons.
Not long after that prison visit, the attorney was notified that Huang was found hanging in his cell.
The news came just a day before Huang was scheduled to appear before an immigration judge. One of the topics to be covered, a relative said, was a bond for Huang's release.
The questions surrounding Huang's death continue to haunt his relatives, and they're hoping to get answers.
"I don't know why he passed on," Yueng Huang said. "I used to cry every day thinking about it. I still don't know what happened."
