‘A Sun client died in delivery’

One of Sen Sun’s pregnant clients died during childbirth this year, according to assistant U.S. attorney James Benedetto yesterday.

In pushing for Sun’s continued detention pending trial, Benedetto said it is his understanding that one of Sun’s pregnant clients died, leading to a verbal confrontation between the woman’s husband and Sun.

Benedetto did not provide other details about the death and the alleged confrontation.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy later allowed Sun to post an $8,500 bond and his release to a third-party custodian.

Sun, an alleged overstaying Chinese tourist, was indicted in federal court for allegedly operating an unlicensed business that offered trip packages to the CNMI for pregnant Chinese women seeking to give birth here.

The indictment charged Sun with harboring illegal aliens, unlawfully employing aliens, and money laundering.

At a detention hearing yesterday, Benedetto also disclosed that the Department of Public Safety recently investigated Sun for robbery and assault and battery, but that he does not have details about the case.

He said that Sun has been lying about the sources of his income and lied to federal enforcement that he lost his passport a long time ago, despite not reporting the alleged loss to authorities.

Benedetto noted that the FBI retrieved a photo of Sun’s passport from casino records.

He said the casino took a photo of Sun’s passport as it showed that the defendant had payment redemption in the amount of $20,000, $30,000, and $100,000 between Sept. 22, 2017 and Oct. 8, 2017.

These records, he said, belied Sun’s claim that he lost his passport.

Benedetto said the evidence shows that Sun is not forthcoming to law enforcement and his gambling history is significant.

Benjamin Petersburg, the court-appointed counsel for Sun, said that Sun has a 3-year-old son born here on Saipan.

Petersburg said that Sun has no prior criminal record and was indeed arrested for robbery, but there’s no information or report about it.

Petersburg said the evidence shows that Sun was aware of the investigation in the federal case but he did not flee the CNMI.

Petersburg said any risk of flight can be mitigated by placing his client on location monitoring and setting other conditions.

Kennedy later released Sun to a third-party custodian, Yong Park. He will be subjected to a location monitoring program and restriction to Park’s house at all times except for court hearings, medical appointments, or with the court’s permission.

Petersburg will continue as Sun’s counsel for now, but Sun may be assessed attorney’s fees at the end of the lawyer’s representation.