Plea agreement reached in stranded Saipan dancers

The man charged with illegally employing 14 Saipan cultural dancers in Palau and the Palau Attorney General’s Office have reached a plea agreement that was approved by the Palau Supreme Court Monday.

Under the agreement, Sung Ki Kim pleaded guilty to seven counts of illegally employing nonresident workers. He received a six-month suspended sentence, and is now in probation.

As restitution, Kim was ordered to pay the repatriation costs of the workers, as well their back wages, which totals more than $15,000.

The Palau AGO indicated that Kim has already provided plane tickets for the workers to return home, and was given 60 days to pay their back wages. The prison sentence will be imposed if Kim fails to comply and pay the full amount within the given time period. Once paid, the money will be disbursed to the workers who, according to Assistant Attorney General Dave Shipper, have already returned to Saipan.

“This settlement serves both the interests of justice and expediency,” Shipper said. “The victims of this crime have been able to go home to their families and will be paid their promised wages.”

Investigation showed that the cultural dance group members were made to work despite having no work permits from the Palau government. Shipper said the 14 workers from Saipan entered Palau on tourist visas.

Also charged for the same crime was Kim Dae Woo, who has yet to be apprehended after fleeing from Palau before the investigation began.

Members of the dance group included manager Mel Hal Taitano, singer Rose Fejeran, and dancers Jose D. Guerrero, 18; Jedyleeh Quizza F. Castillo, 19; Eldred Reyes Shai, 19; Catherine Shai, 20; Jesse John Castro, 21; Melody Ngirchongor Blunt, 22; Fritz Passi, 22; Dean Pangelinan, 25; and Ray Ngirchau Ruluked, 36.

The workers, nine of which are U.S. citizens, are members of the Siba Afi [Fire Dance] group, which performs Hawaiian and Polynesian dances.

The two employers reportedly contracted the dance group on Saipan last June to perform at the Lake 2 Restaurant in Medalaii, Palau, after watching it perform cultural dances at a Saipan hotel and cultural park. The recruiters allegedly contracted the dance group for six months, which would expire in March 2005.

Upon their arrival on Palau sometime last September, the workers were made to clean their apartment and the stage where they were supposed to perform was not yet completed, the group’s manager disclosed.

The group reportedly performed Hawaiian and Polynesian dances four nights weekly at Lake 2 Restaurant, which sometimes had no customers. It later found out that another dance group was not getting paid their wages.

The employers allegedly abandoned the workers after having a misunderstanding among themselves when the business failed to pick up.