Richmond Cop Killer Balks at Talk
Quote:
Richmond cop killer balks at talk
Stuart Chan, the driver who killed Const. Jimmy Ng, promised to make a presentation to teens about how decisions can affect other people’s lives, but still hasn’t
CTV News file photo
By Martin van den Hemel - Richmond Review
Published: April 22, 2009 10:00 AM
Updated: April 22, 2009 1:27 PM
3 Comments
The man who killed Richmond RCMP Const. Jimmy Ng still hasn't complied with his parole commitments nearly four years after his release from prison, The Richmond Review has learned.
Yau Chung Stuart Chan, 25, who was street racing when he ran a red light and broad-sided Ng's cruiser in September of 2002, was granted full parole just eight months into a two-year sentence.
The B.C. Parole Board agreed to release Chan following his second bid for parole after he crafted a plan for his reintegration into the community. The plan included a promise to make a presentation to teens about how decisions can affect other people's lives.
But judging from the fact he's been recently hanging up the phone after corrections staff identify themselves during calls to his home, Chan is having second thoughts about living up to his word.
For the parents of Jimmy Ng, who have been patiently waiting to hear Chan speak to high school teens, news that Chan may not come through with his obligation is extremely upsetting.
"He still has a responsibility to respond to the court order, as far as we're concerned," said Dr. Chris Ng, Jimmy Ng's father. "If you're a good citizen, you behave and this is part of your parole requirements. And you haven't fulfilled the commitments."
For the Ngs, they want to witness whether Chan has been rehabilitated, and they believe making a presentation to youth about his actions is an extremely important community contribution.
It will also help provide them closure, and allow them to move on, he said.
The fact that Chan only served a third of his sentence wasn't enough time, Chris Ng said.
"I just want to see how he's going to present himself to the public. As far as we're concerned, when he promised the parole board he would do all this and do all that, he hasn't finished that."
B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal promised to look into the matter.
"They have every right to be upset," Oppal said. "I feel sick about it. This guy is completely irresponsible. He's thumbed his nose at the system."
According to e-mails sent to the Ngs, B.C. Corrections doesn't believe it can force Chan to make the presentation.
"Unfortunately, the task of making the presentation was more a moral obligation than a legal requirement," wrote Richmond Community Corrections manager Wes Hawkes.
According to Hawkes, making arrangements for the presentation wasn't possible until November 2006, a month after Chan's parole expired. The reason something couldn't be arranged earlier isn't known.
Chris Ng said it simply isn't acceptable that he had to raise the issue, and continually follow-up with corrections staff about the presentation.
And now it may be too late.
He feels the justice system has let Chan "slip through the cracks".
In an e-mail written on Tuesday, Hawkes wrote: "Since you first contacted me, Mr. Chan has consistently agreed to make good his moral responsibility to complete the presentation, however, now is unwilling to speak with me or other members of community corrections. We have had no legal authority over him since expiry of his parole. I am sincerely sorry to communicate this information to you and your wife."
Bob Baziuk, a friend of the Ng family, said criminals shouldn't be allowed to dictate the law.
"I think somebody better get their act together, and think of the victims for once," he said, adding that Chan's sentence should be revisited if he reneges on his promise.
As recently as February, arrangements had been made for Chan to speak to students in the New Westminster School District, which had requested a copy of his presentation.
But after that, Chan began to avoid corrections staff by hanging up on them.
"Based on this response, it would appear that Stuart does not intend to cooperate with the arranged plan for a presentation to the New Westminster School District. I have no insight into why he has changed his position because he now refuses to speak with me," Hawkes wrote in an e-mail on Monday
| Source: http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_.../43438602.html
If you see this guy, make sure you run him over. |
