Teenager sentenced in slaying at mall

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Friday, March 25, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.

During his sentencing of a 16-year-old boy to six to 20 years in prison for participating in last year's fatal beating of a 17-year-old at the Boulevard mall, District Judge Michael Cherry said it was the saddest case he had presided over in his seven years on the bench.

Happy Oum had pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter with use of a deadly weapon for the killing of Lee Masangkay.

The victim's father, Carmelito Masangkay, said his son was a friendly person who was so generous he would give the last of his allowance away to someone in need.

"I don't know what transpired," the father said of whatever preceded the deadly fight. "Because he was wearing red or the wrong pants? I don't know how much of a sentence you will give these people, but it will not bring back my son's life.

"I don't know how we are going to cope with it, but we just pray."

Cherry said, "My heart bleeds that a father has to come speak about his dead teenage son."

Cherry recalled his youth before sentencing Oum, saying when he was a kid there were gangs, but they wouldn't hurt anyone.

In a brief statement to the court Oum said he "never intended this to happen." When Cherry asked him why he attacked Masangkay, Oum said, "It was childish, sir."

Oum was 15 at the time of the killing, and another member of the gang, Kenny Vansouphet was 14. Vansouphet, who prosecutors said delivered the fatal blow with a metal chair, pleaded guilty to the same charge as Oum on Jan. 18 and received the same sentence as Oum did.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said Oum was the only one of the four teenagers charged that had a prior relationship with Masangkay, but DiGiacomo wouldn't say what the nature of the relationship was.

Digiacomo said witness statements and a security surveillance videotape show Oum got in a fist fight with Masangkay at the mall.

The prosecutor said although people attending a party with Oum after the incident have said Oum was bragging about using brass knuckles to punch Masangkay and brass knuckles were later found in the car Oum drove away from the mall in on the day of the killing, the coroner could not say whether a blow from the brass knuckles was the cause of death.

The two other teenagers alleged to be involved in the attack, Ratasit "Matt" Oudom and Asdawut "Joe" Yutprachun, are still at large and wanted on the charge of murder with use of a deadly weapon.