Vol. 73/No. 11      March 23, 2009

Immigration cops arrested Ng in New York City in July 2007 for allegedly overstaying his visa. He had no criminal record and had been applying for a green card when he was taken into detention and shuttled through jails and detention centers in three New England states. He ended up at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center, a privately run jail in Central Falls, Rhode Island.

The lawsuit, filed February 9 on behalf of the family by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, charges several of the defendants with violations of constitutional rights, assault and battery, denial of access to medical care, and denial of access to legal counsel, among other charges.

According to the prosecution, Ng was tortured, denied medical care, and was taunted by facility personnel who accused him of faking an illness. After complaining of intense pain for several weeks he was taken in shackles to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and a fractured spine. Ng died five days later.

A January investigation by ICE confirms the brutal treatment Ng faced. Surveillance video show him being dragged by corrections personnel into a van for a trip to Hartford, Connecticut, where his lawyers say he was pressured to withdraw all his appeals and accept deportation.

Since the investigation, all ICE detainees have been removed from the Wyatt facility.

Ng was 34 years old at the time of his death. The lawsuit brings charges against both the detention center and ICE, seeking compensation for Ng’s wife and two sons.
 
 
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