Zhongli Pang, 36, was sentenced March 28, 2025, to three months in prison for attempting to smuggle 12 migrants aboard the Helen, shown here, from Saipan to Guam on June 23, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard)
A Chinese man was sentenced to a short federal prison term for attempting to smuggle 12 Chinese migrants from the Northern Mariana Islands to Guam last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Guam announced Tuesday.
The Northern Mariana Islands District Court sentenced Zhongli Pang, 36, to three months in prison, with credit for time served; one year of supervised release; 50 hours of community service; and a $200 fine, according to a news release Tuesday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chief Judge Ramona Manglona sentenced Pang on Friday, according to court records. Pang pleaded guilty Feb. 25 to conspiracy and aiding and abetting transportation of illegal aliens and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
He will serve approximately one month in prison after credit with two months in jail prior to sentencing, U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Carmela Rapadas told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday.
Pang will likely be monitored after his release from prison until he either returns to China or is formally deported from Saipan.
“We will continue to target illegal aliens unlawfully traveling between the [Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands] and Guam,” U.S. Attorney Shawn Anderson said in the news release. “The risk to personal safety is substantial.”
The route from Saipan – the Northern Mariana Islands’ capital - to Guam over the past several years has been regularly used as a pathway for illegal immigration, according to U.S. authorities.
Both are U.S. territories, but Saipan allows Chinese citizens to stay without a visa for up to two weeks. Those who attempt to enter Guam typically do so in search of better pay or economic opportunities.
Pang on June 23 attempted to transport the 12 immigrants via a small vessel, the Helen, but the trip went awry when the boat ran out of fuel. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam ultimately had to rescue the 13 boaters.
One passenger told investigators she had paid $3,500 to “Captain Pang” for the trip, according to court records.
Chinese immigrants typically pay between $3,000 and $5,000 to be smuggled from Saipan to Guam, Ha Noul Lee, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, said in the criminal complaint against Pang.
A separate, unrelated case involving nine Chinese citizens and two Northern Mariana citizens was also recently concluded, according to a March 17 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The case bore many similarities, including an overloaded boat that ran out of gas. All 11 were found guilty, with sentences ranging from one year probation to 15 months in federal prison, as well as supervised release, community service and fines.
