Opinion ID: 198841
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hui Lin

Text: Hui Lin argues that there has been no showing that he anticipated or should have anticipated the actions of the crew or the conditions aboard the XING DA.3 He argues that he was not on the ship 3This position is at odds with the position Hui Lin's counsel took at sentencing, where he argued first that it was foreseeable that much of this conduct could happen aboard the vessel, and second that Hui Lin and Yiu Ming Kwan did not know that the crew members were going to go crazy and do the kind of stuff they did, but that they should have foreseen it. -14- and did not communicate with the ship during the voyage. He also argues that there was no evidence that he ever ordered or encouraged the use of force or the deprivations suffered by the passengers. Hui Lin's argument is unavailing, especially under the applicable plain error standard. The facts (even if true) that he was not on the ship, did not communicate with the ship, and did not order the actions or conditions aboard the ship, do not require the conclusion that Hui Lin could not have known about or at least foreseen the crew's actions or the ship's conditions. Several factors noted by the government support the opposite conclusion. First, Hui Lin's planning and negotiation demonstrated that he was clearly in charge of the stateside portion of the smuggling conspiracy. Second, his concern with finances during the negotiations supports the inference that he understood the importance of frugality with respect to all aspects of the conspiracy. Third, Hui Lin knew of the inadequacy of the offloading vessel, but arranged for the aliens to be transported into the United States on that vessel anyway. When it was pointed out that the conditions aboard the fishing vessel would be less than ideal, Hui Lin stated that the aliens would simply have to sit below deck and stay awake for two days. Fourth, Hui Lin knew that seven or eight enforcers would control the aliens on both the XING DA and the offloading vessel. We agree with the government that there was little need to provide for enforcers on such a voyage unless the negotiating appellants knew that -15- the conditions were likely to provoke unrest. Finally, Hui Lin was present when Nai Fook Li told Agent Rendon that the offloading vessel need not have enough life jackets for the passengers. From these facts, the district court could properly have found that Hui Lin either knew of or could have foreseen the crew's actions or the dangerous and inhumane conditions aboard the XING DA. Even if we assume that Hui Lin did not have full knowledge of the manner in which the aliens would be treated, the conversations with the undercover agents demonstrate that he could have and should have foreseen many of the conditions, deprivations, and abuses suffered by the unfortunate passengers. Thus, the upward departure was not plain error.