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Terror charge student acquitted
By Li Xinran |
October 8, 2010, Friday
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Online Edition
Online Edition
A 26-year-old Chinese national studying in the United States who was accused of making a terroristic threat has been acquitted after the district attorney presiding over his case dismissed the charge against him.
The New Jersey attorney Christina Krauthammer yesterday informed Zhai Tiantian's lawyer of the dismissal of Zhai's case and a grand jury decision finding him not guilty.
The 23-member grand jury decided Zhai was not guilty of making "terroristic threats," a felony that carries a sentence of three to five years imprisonment, during the hearing on September 21. Zhai was absent but his counsel Hai Ming cited an e-mail sent to him by attorney Krauthammer.
Zhai, a former PhD candidate at Stevens, had been detained and put under custody in the Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny, NJ, after he expressed anger over his suspension from the university for disciplinary reasons by calling the campus's main offices and saying, "I'm going to burn that building down."
The New York Times cited the university's special counsel, Chris Adams, who said that New Jersey law uses the term "terroristic threats" to describe "statements made with the purpose to cause serious public inconvenience."
Zhai, from Xi'an, capital of the northern province of Shaanxi, enrolled at Stevens in 2000. After receiving an undergraduate degree and two master's degrees, Zhai began pursuing a doctorate in engineering.
His disciplinary case at Stevens began in the spring, according to The New York Times.
The newspaper cited his lawyer and friends that it began when a relationship with a woman turned sour.
In early March, the woman, a graduate school instructor at a university in New York City, filed a harassment complaint with the police, Hai said.
On March 11, Zhai received a letter from an assistant vice president at Stevens saying he had been suspended indefinitely. The letter, while offering no details, stated that Zhai had violated several provisions in the Stevens Student Code of Conduct involving harassment, intimidation and "conduct that threatens or endangers the physical or mental health or safety of any person."
"The overall conclusion is that your presence on campus is a health and safety risk to members of the Stevens community," the newspaper said citing the letter.
Zhai then called the main administration building at Stevens on April 15. A campus police officer answered, and Zhai told the officer what was on his mind, according to The New York Times.
That evening, the campus police, accompanied by federal immigration agents, appeared at Zhai's door and took him into custody.
According to Hai, the "harassment charges" in March were dismissed on July 21, meaning Zhai has no criminal record in the US.
The New Jersey attorney Christina Krauthammer yesterday informed Zhai Tiantian's lawyer of the dismissal of Zhai's case and a grand jury decision finding him not guilty.
The 23-member grand jury decided Zhai was not guilty of making "terroristic threats," a felony that carries a sentence of three to five years imprisonment, during the hearing on September 21. Zhai was absent but his counsel Hai Ming cited an e-mail sent to him by attorney Krauthammer.
Zhai, a former PhD candidate at Stevens, had been detained and put under custody in the Hudson County Correctional Center in Kearny, NJ, after he expressed anger over his suspension from the university for disciplinary reasons by calling the campus's main offices and saying, "I'm going to burn that building down."
The New York Times cited the university's special counsel, Chris Adams, who said that New Jersey law uses the term "terroristic threats" to describe "statements made with the purpose to cause serious public inconvenience."
Zhai, from Xi'an, capital of the northern province of Shaanxi, enrolled at Stevens in 2000. After receiving an undergraduate degree and two master's degrees, Zhai began pursuing a doctorate in engineering.
His disciplinary case at Stevens began in the spring, according to The New York Times.
The newspaper cited his lawyer and friends that it began when a relationship with a woman turned sour.
In early March, the woman, a graduate school instructor at a university in New York City, filed a harassment complaint with the police, Hai said.
On March 11, Zhai received a letter from an assistant vice president at Stevens saying he had been suspended indefinitely. The letter, while offering no details, stated that Zhai had violated several provisions in the Stevens Student Code of Conduct involving harassment, intimidation and "conduct that threatens or endangers the physical or mental health or safety of any person."
"The overall conclusion is that your presence on campus is a health and safety risk to members of the Stevens community," the newspaper said citing the letter.
Zhai then called the main administration building at Stevens on April 15. A campus police officer answered, and Zhai told the officer what was on his mind, according to The New York Times.
That evening, the campus police, accompanied by federal immigration agents, appeared at Zhai's door and took him into custody.
According to Hai, the "harassment charges" in March were dismissed on July 21, meaning Zhai has no criminal record in the US.
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