Padavan, Golden, Lanza Call For Stronger Laws To Protect Women From Abusers

Three New York City State Senators today called for stronger laws to protect women from abusers in the wake of the gruesome murder of a Flushing, Queens woman who had filed at least five orders of protection against her murderer, Huang Chen, before he killed her.  In 2006, the suspected murderer spent 30 days in jail for choking and punching the same woman in the face.

Senator Frank Padavan (Queens), Senator Martin Golden (Brooklyn) and Senator Andrew Lanza (Staten Island) have introduced legislation mandating jail time for individuals who violate an order of protection more than once.  Repeat violators who have a violent criminal record would also be required to wear a GPS tracking device and move away from their victim if they live close by.   

Police said that on Tuesday, January 26, Huang Chen followed Qian Wu into her Flushing building and stabbed her multiple times in the torso, arms and face with a knife and hammer.  He then ripped out Wu’s heart and lungs.  According to police sources, Wu had been harassed for years by the suspected murderer, who lived two doors down from her.

Senator Padavan said, “Women in New York State deserve to know that they are being protected under our criminal justice system.  There were numerous warning signs that this victim was at great risk.  We need to strengthen the State’s orders of protection laws to ensure that women are actually being protected.”

Senator Golden said, “It is absolutely outrageous that a violent criminal who violated several orders of protection was allowed to reside two doors down from the victim he was stalking.  This legislation will remedy that problem by requiring these perpetrators to move and wear a GPS device so that we can track their whereabouts at all times.”

Senator Lanza said, “This horrific murder shows the cracks in our public safety system which failed Ms. Wu in so many ways.  Women seeking an order of protection against an abuser should feel confident that everything is being done to keep them safe.  We need to tighten up the law by preventing repeat abusers from having access to their victims, and punish them if they try to violate an order of protection.”

The State Senators’ proposed law would require 30 days of incarceration for individuals who violate an order of protection two or more times, and require these repeat violators to wear an electronic monitoring device (GPS), if they have been convicted or are awaiting trial for a prior violent offense such as assault or rape.    

Under the proposal, if the repeat violator of an order of protection lives within such close proximity of the victim that a GPS device would not function – as in the case of Chen, who lived two doors down from his victim – the violator would have to move within a specified time frame determined by a judge.