Ka-Wing Yuen, a defendant in the 2013 fatal hazing of fellow Baruch College student Chun Hsien “Michael” Deng, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a Pennsylvania court, prosecutors said.
On December 8, 2013, Deng, 19, died from a head injury sustained during a hazing ritual, known as the “glass ceiling,” at a fraternity retreat in the Poconos for the Baruch chapter of Pi Delta Psi, which has now been banned from the school.
Investigators presented evidence against Yuen in a bench trial, the first among the 38 co-defendants including Pi Delta Psi members, which faces conspiracy charges, according to Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Metzger.
“We have one down and 37 to go, counting the charges against the fraternity as a corporation,” said Metzger.
Charles Lai, Kenny Kwan, Raymond Lam, and Sheldon Wong, the frat brothers who were reportedly directly responsible for injuring Deng, were charged by police with criminal homicide, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, hindering apprehension, hazing and criminal conspiracy.
During the hazing, Deng and other pledges wore a blindfold and were forced to carry a 20-pound backpack filled with sand as they ran to fraternity brothers who pushed and tackled them to the ground, court records revealed.
Deng did not back down and kicked one of the brothers, who began hitting him harder, according to a 2015 grand jury investigation released by the Monroe County District Attorney’s office.
Deng died a few days later after suffering massive head trauma and damage to his lungs due to repeated impact to his rib cage.
View all articles by Lindsay Goobersoly
