‘SU fiasco is also govt’s fault’

Nearly two years after they got dragged into the Saipan University fiasco, former students of the failed academic institution are still wondering as to what happened to their monetary claims.

Wang Rui, spokesperson of the group, said they have not received any compensation in terms of tuition reimbursement, even after the detention and sentencing of SU founder Park Soon Kyung.

“Park is already in prison and authorities already seized his money. Why are we not paid yet?” asked Wang.

He said they believe that the entire mess was not the fault of Park alone.

“SU was a licensed business in the CNMI. Why did the government issue them license without investigating first? The CNMI government is at fault, too,” he said.

Another former SU student said they had thought that their case would be resolved fast.

“We are in a U.S. territory. America is land of freedom and justice. But where’s our justice?” he said on condition of anonymity.

Wang said most of them want to get compensated soon so they could get back to China.

“There’s no problem going home. We want to go home but we don’t have money,” he said.

Wang’s group held a rally at the Governor’s Office last week in time for the arrival of U.S. Senate Energy Committee staffers Allen Stayman and Josh Johnson to press for federal assistance.

The group relayed to the U.S. visitors that “we were cheated” and “the CNMI has failed us.”

During that gathering, the group also complained of what they said was an order from the Division of Immigration telling them to pack up and leave the island by next month.

Attorney general Pamela Brown, who met the former SU students during the rally, assured them, though, that those who are working would not be asked to go home. She said only those who were not given temporary work permits would be repatriated.

The Chinese students enrolled with SU in 2003 on the belief that the then newly established institution would allow them to study and work at the same time. They said that they spent some $5,000 each to come to Saipan. Most of them borrowed money from the black market to study at SU.

The U.S. District Court sentenced Park last January to nine years and one month imprisonment for defrauding the Chinese individuals, totaling 88.