← All cases

Wah Mee massacre

Also known as: Willie Mak, Kwan Fai Mak, Benjamin Ng

Active

1983–1983

Region

Seattle, Washington, USA

Status

Convicted

Victims

13

On the night of February 18-19, 1983, three gunmen robbed the Wah Mee, an exclusive high-stakes gambling club in the Louisa Hotel building in Seattle's Chinatown-International District; 14 people were tied up and shot, and 13 died, making it the deadliest mass murder in Washington history. The survivor, dealer Wai Yok Chin, identified Kwan Fai "Willie" Mak and Benjamin Ng, who were each convicted in 1983 of 13 counts of aggravated first-degree murder; Ng was sentenced to life without parole, and Mak was sentenced to death, later reduced to life without parole. The third man, Wai Chiu "Tony" Ng, fled to Canada and was arrested in Calgary in 1984; in 1985 a jury acquitted him of murder but convicted him of first-degree robbery and assault, and he was paroled and deported to Hong Kong in 2014.

Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

• John Loui, 48 · February 1983

  The club's manager; he died of his injuries in hospital.

• Hung Fat Gee, · February 1983

  A club employee. Sources differ on his age (51 or 54).

• Henning Chinn, 52 · February 1983

  A club employee. HistoryLink spells his surname "Chin".

• Gim Lun Wong, 54 · February 1983

  A club employee.

• Moo Min Mar, 52 · February 1983

  A restaurant owner.

• Jean Mar, 47 · February 1983

  Moo Min Mar's wife and the only woman killed. Wikipedia gives her name as Jean Bick Chinn.

• Jack Mar, 60 · February 1983

  A retired postal worker.

• Dewey Mar, 68 · February 1983
• Wing Wong, 59 · February 1983
• Lung Wing Chin, 60 · February 1983
• Chin Lee Law, 51 · February 1983

  HistoryLink spells his name "Chinn Lee Law".

• George Mar, · February 1983

  A chef. Sources differ on his age.

• Chong L. Chin, 55 · February 1983

Timeline of locations

1. February 1983
   Wah Mee club, Louisa Hotel (Crime scene)

   The Wah Mee operated for decades in the Louisa Hotel building, entered from Maynard Alley South. Fourteen people were bound, robbed, and shot here; 13 died. The club never reopened, and the damaged space was demolished after a 2013 fire.

2. February 1983
   Harborview Medical Center (Other)

   The wounded survivor, Wai Yok Chin, was taken here and confirmed to police on the way that he knew two of the gunmen.

3. August 1983
   King County Superior Court (Court / trial, approximate area)

   Benjamin Ng (August 1983) and Willie Mak (October 1983) were tried separately and each convicted of 13 counts of aggravated first-degree murder. In April 1985 Tony Ng was acquitted of murder and convicted of first-degree robbery and assault.

4. October 4, 1984
   Tony Ng's arrest, Calgary (Arrest, approximate area)

   After 20 months on the run, and after being added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, Tony Ng was arrested by the RCMP at an apartment in Calgary's Chinatown.

5. 2013
   Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma (Other)

   After being paroled, Tony Ng was released from state prison into immigration custody at this Tacoma detention center and was deported to Hong Kong in May 2014.

Sources

• Wah Mee massacre (Wikipedia)
• Wah Mee Massacre leaves 13 dead in Seattle's Chinatown International District on February 19, 1983 (HistoryLink.org)
• 20 years after Wah Mee massacre, Chinatown longs to forget (The Seattle Times, Feb 18, 2003)
• Wah Mee: A look back at deadliest massacre in Washington history (KIRO 7)
• Bandit in Seattle Wah Mee Murders, Tony Ng, Deported to Hong Kong (NBC News)

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.