New York City cop accused of spying on fellow Tibetans out on $2 million bond to stand federal trial next month
DHARAMSALA, 19 Aug: A New York City Police Department officer and United States Army reservist who has been arrested on federal charges of acting as an illegal agent of China by spying on fellow Tibetans in the city is set to stand federal trial in Brooklyn next month.
Officer Baimadajie Angwang(Pema Dhargyal Ngawang) a naturalized US citizen from Tibet who resides in Williston Park, N.Y., out on a $2 million bond since February 2021 after contracting COVID-19 behind bars “will stand federal trial in Brooklyn next month on charges alleging that he had been spying on behalf of the Chinese government for years after coming to the U.S. as a refugee,” reports Fox News.
Angwang who works for the New York Police Department’s community affairs unit in the 111th precinct in Queens was arrested and charged in September 2020 for acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the U.S. attorney general, wire fraud, making false statements and obstruction of an official proceeding.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court, Angwang texted or called the consulate officials more than 100 times since 2014.
If convicted, the alleged Chinese spy will face a maximum prison sentence of 55 years.
“His trial date has been scheduled for Sept. 12,” the report said citing N.Y. Daily News.
The court filings declared that Angwang received asylum in the United States after he claimed he was tortured by China because of his Tibetan ethnically.
However, authorities have stated that in reality, his parents are both members of the Chinese Communist Party.
Angwang’s father is a retired member of China’s army, and a member of the nation’s Communist Party, while his mother is both a Communist Party member and a retired Chinese government official.
New York City cop arrested for spying on fellow Tibetans for China.
