Julie_Kim's Blog

The family of Kwok Wai-BLEEP, the 69 year old who was brutally beaten and killed now has closure. Police Friday closed arrested and charged the 17 year old suspect.

What Kwok's family did is courageous. We in the news, see many families taking the lead, speaking out, hoping that by showing their pain, it'll resonate with someone who may have seen or know something. It worked here. What is so extraordinary is that this was an Asian family that spoke out.  When a friend saw my story air last night, they said, "isn't it stereotypical for you to say that Asians who are victimized, don't report it to police?"

Sadly, I don't think it's stereotypical. I think its just the way it is with Asians. I am a first generation Korean. My parents came to America without knowing any English. When I was a kid, our home and car was vandalized, someone threw a rock through our window, my parents chose not to report it. Why, you may ask? There was a serious language barrier, a lack of understanding on how police/justice works here in this country and the feeling that they'd be retaliated against and that it would get worse.

Speaking to Kwok's family, they reiterated the same points. The fear and the lack of understanding keeps most Asians quiet. It also perpetuates the victimization. The family says they have started a fund in Kwok Wai-BLEEP's name in conjunction with the Citizen's Crime Commission. It will help other Asian families who are victims of violent crime do what they did, speak out, offer reward money, get the culprit caught. I think that's amazing. But Asian families need to first take that first step to speak and report the crime.