China News Service, June 17th. According to the US "World Journal" report, the 68-year-old Chinese man Lin from Guangdong was attacked and injured while riding a bus near the beautiful lake in Oakland, the United States.
The reporter learned from the Alameda County Prison System on the 15th that the 39-year-old suspect, Michael Ferguson, had been arrested and his bail was $175,000.
He was indicted for crimes such as assault causing serious injuries, felony committed during bail, etc., but he was not charged with hate crimes.
Alameda County Police said that hate crimes are often difficult to prove and cannot be charged just because the victim is Asian.
The Chinese old man Lin was previously hit on the head with a stick inexplicably while riding a bus near the beautiful lake in Auckland. He was beaten to the head, and even the ticket in his backpack was stained red with blood.
After the incident, there were multiple stitches on the face, and his eyesight was once affected.
According to information from the Axian Online Prison System, Ferguson was arrested on May 4 and charged with committing a felony during bail or release, deliberately resisting, delaying or obstructing police officers from performing official duties, using deadly weapons to attack, violent crimes, and assaults causing personal injury. , Second-degree burglary, major theft of more than US$950, illegal possession of guns and ammunition, etc.
Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Police Office, said that although it is not clear why Mr. Lin was not prosecuted for hate crimes in the case of Mr. Lin being attacked on the bus.
But usually, to prosecute a hate crime, you must show that the suspect attacked the victim because of race or some prejudice.
For example, the suspect said something demeaning to a certain race during the crime.
It is necessary to prove this in court, but sometimes it is difficult to prove, “Because you cannot read someone’s brain and know that there is a certain prejudice in his behavior. The victim is Asian and being attacked does not mean that it must be hatred. criminal behavior."
Earlier, Chen Xipeng, chairman of the Auckland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, was shot in the head from the back by the 25-year-old suspect, James Lee Ramsey, who abused racist vocabulary.
The suspect was charged with a hate crime and a felony assault.
This is also the first case in which a hate crime has been charged in Auckland Chinatown.
Currently, Oakland, Alameda County, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have specialized personnel or departments to deal with hate crimes.
The FBI even made the handling of hate crimes one of its top priorities.
Among the criminal investigators of the Oakland Police Department, there are special agents who can speak Mandarin Chinese to investigate hate crimes.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has established a special response team to deal with these crimes.
The head of the FBI’s San Francisco branch, Craig Fair, told the World Journal that citizens can call the police or log on to relevant websites to report hate crimes.
Generally speaking, when the California district attorney prosecutes a hate crime, the suspect usually commits a basic crime, such as assault, arson, or damage to property, and the district attorney can aggravate the hate crime.
However, there are times when suspects commit basic crimes but cannot be charged with hate crimes.
At the federal level, there are many hate crime laws. As long as the Department of Justice proves the existence of crimes based on prejudice, it can prosecute in accordance with the laws.
If convicted of a hate crime by the federal government, the suspect can be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. In some cases, the punishment may even exceed 10 years.
The official website of the FBI reminded that if you encounter an emergency, you still have to call 911 to report.
(Liu Xianjin)