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Former students testify vs SU founder
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Posted on Aug 31 2004
Former Saipan University students testified yesterday against defunct university founder Soon Kyung Park, recounting allegations of his cheating and commission of other fraudulent acts.
Tai Hu, 38, a former school soccer coach in Jilin, China, said that Park personally told him and other Chinese students last year that they would work and study on Saipan, promises he said that never came to pass.
Tai said that, as an employee earning a little over $100 a month in Jilin, he jumped at Park’s offer right away.
“He promised me $600 to $1,500 salary a month. It’s a lot of money to me. At the same time, I’d be studying,” he said while on the witness stand at the U.S. District Court yesterday.
He said the promise of work attracted him more than the chance to study here.
He said Park promised them that SU is equipped with a computer room and that Park owns a golf course and a restaurant.
“We’re told that we’d be staying in a three-star hotel,” he said.
He said Park also bragged about SU offering over 20 courses, including sports, “and I’m very interested in that.”
Before Tai’s testimony, another former SU student, a Mr. Jin, took the witness stand and was subjected to long hours of questioning. The witness reiterated the allegations that Park had cheated him and other students.
Park allegedly collected at least $5,000 each from some 88 students recruited from the People’s Republic of China.
The defendant allegedly misrepresented the nature of courses offered by SU, the school’s facilities, and the students’ ability to obtain jobs while studying on Saipan.
Park, known to the Chinese students as Piao Cun Jing, was in court yesterday, represented by Saipan lawyers Pedro Atalig and Joseph Arriola.
Park surrendered to authorities last year following the issuance of an arrest warrant over alleged fraudulent acts in the recruitment and transportation of students from China. He was placed under U.S. Marshals’ custody.
Parks has pleaded not guilty to the charge of interstate and foreign transportation of persons in the execution of a scheme to defraud.
