Evergreen Reporter

A Chinese citizen, Ji Wang, 33, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for kidnapping by the U.S. District Court in Seattle. The sentencing was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Wang was apprehended on May 13, 2024, in Los Angeles and identified as one of the perpetrators involved in the abduction and assault of a restaurant worker in Bellevue, Washington on May 27, 2023.

During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robert remarked on the severity of the crime: “They not only kidnapped the victim but brutally assaulted him… It did serious injuries and permanent damage…. It’s about as callous a set of circumstances and as malicious an assault short of actually killing someone.”

Court records indicated that Wang was part of a smuggling operation bringing individuals across the southern U.S. border for a fee. He had entered the United States illegally less than two weeks before committing the crime. The victim reportedly facilitated contacts for people from China seeking smuggling services into the U.S., collecting fees which were lower than expected by Wang's group.

In May 2023, Wang and an accomplice abducted the victim from his workplace at a hot pot restaurant in Bellevue, forcibly taking him into a sedan. They assaulted him severely by beating him and smashing his face into cement before dragging him down stairs.

Witnesses promptly notified Bellevue Police who collaborated with the victim’s girlfriend to make a video call to his cellphone during which Wang revealed his face. This led to police identifying him.

Wang and his accomplice eventually left their critically injured victim at a service station in Bellevue. He required emergency surgery due to brain swelling and remained in a coma for six weeks following four skull surgeries over five months at Overlake Hospital. His medical expenses have surpassed $1 million due to lasting physical and cognitive impairments from the attack.

Prosecutors sought an eight-year sentence arguing that it should be sufficient to deter others from engaging in similar violent acts related to illegal smuggling debts collection.

Wang was unlawfully present in the country and is expected to be deported after serving his prison sentence.

The investigation involved cooperation between Bellevue Police Department, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Marshal’s Service Task Force.