To continue this free service to you, we include affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission from purchases made through links. Commissions received from linked purchases will help fund ongoing costs.
HONOLULU (KHON2) — A $2 million bond has been set for Sebastian Mahkwan, the man accused of pouring a chemical substance on a Maryknoll teacher.
“$2 million is very, very high, and I think the reason for that is because the judge is not only considering the fact that the person is charged with murder, but also the circumstances,” said Doug Chin.
Court documents revealed that two police officers recognized Mahkwan when reviewing security footage the night the 25-year-old victim Danying Zhang was attacked.
The officers reported many face-to-face encounters with Mahkwan in the last five years, with his last encounter being in the Iwilei area in Oct. That is around the time Mahkwan was arrested on assault and drug charges.
“It’s very likely that the prosecution is going to rely upon those two different officers who are going to say, ‘Hey I saw Mr. Mahkwan or interacted with him on prior occasions’,” said Chin.
The bail bonds’ agent declined to comment on who posted bail for Mahkwan the day before the attack occurred.
Kerwin Lima owns Wanna Get Out Bail Bonds, he said companies do not typically take on homeless individuals as clients.
Lima said, “When I heard he was homeless I was surprised that he was on bail, but like I say for my company I would not do that particular bail.”
According to the court documents, the liquid substance burned a large portion of the victim’s body, face, legs and feet. It has also compromised her airway.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce President Michael Young said there has been an outpour of support from the community, they have exceeded expectations for a fundraiser to help with the victim’s medical expenses.
Young said, “It’s overwhelming the help that we’ve seen, cause we are well over $100,000 now.”
They said they have not confirmed travel arrangements for the victim’s family in China yet.
For now, the prosecution is working to build the attempted murder case.
Chin said, “I’m sure they are trying to speak with as many witnesses as possible from the incident to be able to see if any of those people who were at the scene could be able to identify the suspect directly.”
A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday.
Source : https://www.khon2.com/local-news/ala-moana-chemical-attack-suspect-set-on-2-million-bond/