It was reported on Tuesday that four frat brothers from Baruch College pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the death of 18-year-old Chun Michael Deng which occurred during a hazing ritual. The case has been around for over three years, and the four out of 37 that were brought to trial settled with a total confession on their actions that led to a tragic ending for Deng. The sentencing trial for the four fraternity brothers will be held on December 4.
The four who have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as accomplices and hindering apprehension for concealing evidence are Kenny Kwan, Charles Lai, Raymond Lam, and Sheldon Won.
All four guilty members range between the ages of 24 and 28. The victim, Deng, died during a hazing ritual for the Pi Delta Psi fraternity in which he was knocked unconscious and never woke up. The tragic incident occurred in December 2013.
What Happened During the Hazing Ritual?
The ritual held by Pi Delta Psi for Deng required that the pledge carries a 30-pound backpack and walk through the fraternity brothers on a path to cross a finish line. On the path, the frat brothers would hinder Deng from getting closer to the finish line by tackling and shoving Deng. During the process, Deng sustained several injuries. The last was a tackle by Kwan and it knocked Deng unconscious due to hitting his head violently on the ground.
Once the frat brothers realized that Deng was not waking up, they decided to get the fraternity president who told his fraternity to hide the props used for the event. In other words, they were told to hide the evidence. The frat boys later carried Deng to the frat house and changed Deng into this normal clothes. They also tried to diagnose Deng's symptoms through the internet.
After an hour, they decided to take Deng to the hospital.
Authorities reported that the delay in taking Deng to the hospital contributed to his death. Once in the hospital, Deng was put on life support but died from his injuries the day after. Doctors pronounced that Deng died of numerous blows to the body and blunt-force trauma to the head.
In details, doctors claimed that Deng had a massive blow to this back that caused traumatic asphyxia, and also sustained at least three brutal blows to the head.
The Reaction of the Four Frat Brothers
The four who pleaded guilty lived up to their responsibilities after three years of trial. Their original charge was third-degree murder but have settled for involuntary manslaughter. Their lawyers have expressed their feelings in court by stating that they never meant for this tragic incident to happen. Lam's lawyer stated that in the beginning, the four did not realize the consequences of this brutal hazing they mandated, but all four are now living up to their responsibilities. Also, Wong's lawyer stated that Wong did not participate in the physical side of the hazing, but he did plan it. Wong is very sorry for how the incident ended, which was never his intention. All of the other 30-something frat brothers are still awaiting trial.
