Taiwanese terror suspect's celeb mom comes back empty-handed

台恐攻嫌疑犯的名人媽媽空手返台

An Tso Sun's celebrity mom returns to Taiwan after failing to obtain son's release from jail


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- After spending 76 days in the U.S. trying to secure the release of their son, An Tso "Edward" Sun (孫安佐), the Taiwanese exchange student arrested in March for allegedly threatening to "shoot up" a private school in Pennsylvania, his celebrity mother has returned to Taiwan empty-handed.

Sun's celebrity mother, Di Ying (狄鶯), a Taiwanese opera singer, arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5:05 a.m. this morning with her head covered with the hood of a black parka, but her actor husband Sun Peng (孫鵬) was nowhere to be seen. Di returned to Taiwan as her visa had expired after spending 76 days in the U.S. trying to secure her son's release, reported Liberty Times.

The elder Sun, is reportedly still in the U.S., but he too will need to return to Taiwan by the end of June, when his visa also expires.

On March 31, Di and the senior Sun, landed in the U.S. to mount a defense for their son after he was arrested on March 27 and charged with making "terroristic threats" for telling a classmate that he would "shoot up" their school and for possessing "instruments of crime."

Though the celebrity's lawyer was able to arrange a plea deal after Sun agreed to apologize for his actions and plead guilty to making "terroristic threats" in exchange for a suspended sentence, he was immediately handed over to federal authorities who then charged him with possessing ammunition while on a nonimmigrant visa.

The maximum sentence possible for this felony offense is 10 years in jail, a US$250,000 fine and three years supervised release. At a press conference, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said that Sun would be permanently banned from returning to the U.S. after he is deported and the federal sentence would be in addition to the penalties handed down by the Delaware County court.

Sun's parents had originally thought that their son would be released as soon as mid April, but because additional charges were added, including possessing "instruments of crime" and now the new federal charges, their stay in the U.S. was greatly extended.