Tung Kuei-sen was a member of the Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

-based United Bamboo Gang

United Bamboo Gang

The United Bamboo Gang is the largest of Taiwan's three main Triads. They are reported to have roughly 10,000 members. The membership consists largely of waishengren, and has close ties to the Kuomintang; they are said to be motivated as much by political ideology as by profit...

. Along with Chen Chi-li

Chen Chi-li

Chen Chi-li , nicknamed King Duck, was a gangster from Taiwan, best known for heading the United Bamboo Gang...

 and Wu Tun, he is best known for his murder of dissident journalist Henry Liu in Daly City

Daly City, California

Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in October 1984.

Murder of Henry Liu

Chen and Wu had initially planned to murder Liu on their own by intercepting him at Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California

Fisherman's Wharf is a neighborhood and popular tourist attraction in San Francisco, California. It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Avenue east to Pier 35 or Kearny Street...

; after finding the area to be too crowded, they decided instead to attempt to attack him in his home, and enlisted Tung's help. After murdering Liu, Tung flew back to Taiwan with Chen and Wu, but was forced to flee to Manila a few weeks later during Operation Cleansweep a nationwide anti-gang raid. He fled Manila after being questioned by authorities there during an investigation of the contract murders of two Chinese Filipino

Chinese Filipino

A Chinese Filipino derived from two words: "Tsino" and "Pinoy" ) is a Philippine national of Chinese ethnicity but born/raised in the Philippines....

 families, going to Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, and then Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, where he was apprehended and in April 1986 extradited to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Trial

Tung first stood trial in New York State

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 on federal racketeering

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...

 charges relating to a United Bamboo conspiracy to smuggle 660 pounds of heroin into the United States; however, he was acquitted of similar racketeering charges relating to Liu's murder due to his testimony that he shot Liu on orders from the Taiwan government, and not as part of a gang-related activity. As Brazil's extradition treaty with the United States specified that they would not extradite fugitives charged with crimes that could result in their execution, the prosecutor did not seek the death penalty. After the first trial, he was extradited from New York to California to stand trial for Liu's murder. Like Chen, Tung stated that he had killed Liu for patriotic reasons. He was found guilty by a jury on 17 March 1988 after just 45 minutes of deliberations.

Sentencing and imprisonment

Tung's sentence of 25 years to life for the murder and two years for the use of a firearm was passed on 12 May; the judge rejected a plea that his sentences be allowed to run concurrently, which could have seen him set free in just six years. According to prosecutors, he would not have been eligible for parole for 17 years and 8 months. He was then sent to Pennsylvania to serve out his term for the drug charges. On 21 February 1991, he was attacked and stabbed by fellow prisoners at the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary

Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary

The United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg is a male inmate high security federal penitentiary and satellite minimum security prison camp housing some 1,000 and 500 respectively, just outside Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Lewisburg Penitentiary was opened in 1932...

 in Lewisburg

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union...

; after a long struggle to recover from his wounds, he died on 3 April.