“Now that I think about it, it’s not right — he kept complimenting me, he kept showering me with praise,” said the woman, who was a high school student at the time. “At the same time, he was opening a lot of opportunities for me. He bought me a paddle for my birthday.”
But then the pandemic intervened, and a judge dismissed the case this year at a brief hearing in June, held virtually, without offering an explanation.
“I had to keep refreshing the website with all the charges,” the woman reached by The Times said. “Me and the other girls are disappointed because he got no repercussions. That was heartbreaking to hear.”
Varghese, Ng’s lawyer, said Ng was relieved.
“He was blindsided when the police showed up at his door,” he said. “Being accused of something like this took its toll on him, emotionally, as well as on his wife. But justice was served. He’s an innocent man from a legal perspective. It’s as if it never happened.”
But then the Queens district attorney’s office filed a notice to appeal on Aug. 6. The office declined to comment, citing the continuing case.
Ng’s situation remains uncomfortable for many.
That was evident at a weekend practice weeks ago in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, as teams sponsored by Northwell Health, New York Community Bank, HSBC and other organizations prepared for the return of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York in early August.
While the event aimed to promote vaccination, reopen small businesses and tackle anti-Asian hate crimes, virtually everyone was aware of Ng’s case. After all, DCH was a notable no-show this year.