A US cop charged of being a Chinese agent by spying on the Tibetans has been released on a $2 million bond on Wednesday. According to the local report, the agent was released after contracting Coronavirus in the Federal jail. The New York Police Department officer was arrested in September last year on charges of acting as an illegal agent of China and spying on Tibetan communities in the US.
“A New York City police officer from Williston Park charged with being an agent of the People’s Republic of China was released on $2 million bond Wednesday from a federal jail after contracting the coronavirus.” said the report by NewsDay paper and reported that this has been made possible on the strength of 13 people who believed in him.
The report also quoted the accused’s attorney stating, “Mr. Angwang is free today on the strength of 13 people who believed in him so much that they committed to a two million dollar bond. He is going to enjoy an evening with his wife and daughter.” Although he was denied bail on two earlier occasions, the last hearing cited big changes in the plea such as the increase of bail bond from $1 million to $2 million dollars.
Baimadjie Angwang (Pema Dhargyal Ngawang) is charged to have acted at the direction and control of officials at the PRC Consulate in New York City since 2014. He reportedly alleged to have specifically reported on the activities of Chinese citizens in the New York area, spotted and assessed potential intelligence sources within the Tibetan community in New York and elsewhere, and provided PRC officials with access to senior NYPD officials through invitations to official events.
Angwang is also charged with committing wire fraud, making material false statements and obstructing an official proceeding. As part of his employment with the U.S. Army Reserve, Angwang maintained a “SECRET”-level security clearance, the official release added. However, the accused has not been charged with spying or espionage but the prosecutors believe he could face upto decades in prison.
Baimadajie Angwang, 33, a New York City police officer from Williston Park, who now has been suspended without pay, is a naturalized citizen from Tibet, had been held in the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He has been attending various events of Tibetan community in New York such as the last appearance at the Tibetan New Year celebrations along with US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in February 2020.
Photo Credit(left): Debbie Egan-Chin/Debbie Egan-Chin