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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, May 9, 2010

2 held in cab driver's death


Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Ty Tang

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Honolulu police have arrested two teenagers in the May 1 beating death of 41-year-old taxi driver Charlys Ty Tang.

Michael Robles, 18, of Mānoa and an unidentified 17-year-old male were arrested at the Honolulu Police Department's main station on South Beretania shortly before midnight on Friday.

Robles was charged with second-degree murder, and is being held on $250,000 bail, police said.

The 17-year-old boy was arrested and a petition filed in Family Court, said Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman Capt. Letha DeCaires

Tang, who immigrated to Hawai'i from Cambodia, was found beaten and dying in his car just before 2 a.m. in the parking lot of the Waipahu Times Super Market. It was his 41st birthday.

Police said Tang had picked up two men around 1:15 a.m. on Kūhiō Avenue then drove them to Times. Witnesses reported seeing two men fleeing the scene.

Tang's death shed light on the long hours and potentially deadly situations faced by local taxi drivers, many of whom are immigrants. In the wake of the apparent killing, many drivers voiced their concerns about working in the midst of a prolonged recession.

Tang worked as a cook at several restaurants, but turned to driving a taxi when many of those restaurants closed because of slow business.

On the day he died, his family had been planning a birthday celebration at Magic Island to coincide with a gathering of other immigrants from Cambodia.

A service for Tang will be held Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at Mililani Downtown Mortuary (visitation from 9 a.m.), with burial to follow at noon at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.

Tang is survived by his wife, Xiaoling; son, Jarvis, daughter, Aprille; mother, Jenny Tang; brothers, Billy and Peter; and sisters, Judy Chow, Susan and Pamela.