Posted on 03/09/2010 12:56:45 PM PST by La Lydia
Theirs was a whirlwind New York City Christmas, but while true love is timeless, vacations are not. Sadly, it came time for one of the lovebirds to fly home to California, and the other, Haisong Jiang — love-struck as if Cupid hit him not with an arrow, but with a two-by-four to the head — saw his beloved to the security line at Newark Liberty International Airport. One thing led to another, and they kissed, and whatever else that kiss sealed, it certainly included his fate: to ladle out meals at some soup kitchen to work off 100 hours of community service for his crime that afternoon in January...
Jiang walked past a Terminal C exit on Jan. 3 to see his girlfriend to her departure gate, prompting an evacuation of the terminal on one of its busiest days. About 200 flights were delayed or canceled and thousands of passengers had to be screened all over again as officials looked for a suspect who was not only oblivious, but long gone.
He was tracked down and arrested on Jan. 8.
Tuesday he pleaded guilty in Newark Municipal Court to the charge of defiant trespass, and besides the community service, he also must pay a $500 fine and $158 in costs and fees...Jiang will work off his punishment in community service....
He anticipates serving half of his community service in a soup kitchen and the other half in a hospital or some sort of nonprofit agency. He flew to California without incident for Valentine’s Day. He and his girlfriend talk for 2,000 minutes a month, he said, mostly late at night. He plans on moving to California to be with her and work in a laboratory after completing his degree in May or June....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Though if I was there at the time, I might have given Jiang a punch in the nose, the people who really should be serving soup and eating crow are the TSA managers.
The location was not staffed properly (even a guard needs a break now and then) and the security cameras hadn’t been working for weeks. Let the book-smart, dumb-as-a-rock grad student stay. Award him for showing how foolish our current security methods are in the first place.
why can’t they stamp the hands of people who have been through line so they don’t have to have everyone go through security again when something like this happens
There was nothing romantic or innocent about this. He took his girlfriend to the security line. Knowing he couldn't pass security because he didn't have a ticket, he ducked under a security rope and entered a concourse through the exit to go to the gate.
I can't see my wife to a gate, nobody can and he knew it. He did the crime and he can do the time.
What was the punishment for the guard who left his post and let this happen?
I am sure that will never be announced, because it is a “personnel matter.”
He should also have to pay the thousands of dollars it cost to cancel and delay all of those flights and pay all the passengers he inconvenienced too. With interest he should have worked it off by his 70th birthday.
ML/NJ
It is absolutely infuriating. He isn’t being punished AT ALL. But I can only imagine how he would have been treated had he been my son, or yours, that is, not an Asian here on a student visa. Our children would have been sent to prison.
Amen.The tape shows him hanging around the security desk looking for his chance!
Seems to me the hubbub might have been avoided by paging the guy over the loudspeaker. “Would the fellow who just kissed his girlfriend at the security gate please pick up a white courtesy phone.”
There wouldn’t have been a chance if the guard hadn’t slacked off.
I guess I am in the minority. When an Asian guy ducks under a rope to kiss his girlfriend, I don’t understand why the whole airport ends up evacuated. Somebody was world class stupid, and it wasn’t just the student.
This guy is from China, right? Perhaps he was enamored with the idea that people aren’t so controlled by rules here.
It’s a stupid rule that doesn’t protect anyone. It’s just a way to pretend they’re “doing something,” while they continue to allow people to come here from terrorist states, and leave the borders open.
I miss the day when a friend or family could also pass through security and meet someone at the gate or accompany him to the gate. Our tense security situation doesn’t allow that any more. It would overload the system.
So what was the criminal intent?
Things are really getting testy and nuts around here............
“despite the fact that he caused a huge amount of disruption and panic.”
The disruption and panic were caused by our incompetent airport authorities.
I would have deported him ASAP. Unfortunately the laws are very weak on this
And consider this. Because of the publicity this case got a suicide bomber just learned where TSA security is so lax he might be able to get on a busy airport concourse bypassing security.
So, in your opinion, someone who violates a traffic law and causes a huge traffic jam is blameless, while the municipality, its incompetent law enforcement and bad traffic laws and regulations are to blame. Okay....
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