Former Baruch College Students Plead Guilty In Fraternity Hazing Death: Reports

KIPS BAY, NY — Four former Baruch College students have pleaded guilty in the 2013 hazing death of a fellow student, according to multiple media reports.

Chun "Michael" Deng was killed in December 2013 in a fraternity hazing ritual gone wrong while the fraternity members and their "pledges" were traveling in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. Four men, all of them former Baruch students and fraternity members, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in Pennsylvania on Monday, the New York Times reported.

Kenny Kwan, Charles Lai, Raymond Lam and Sheldon Wong all agreed to the reduced charges on Monday after they were initially charged with murder upon their arrest in 2015.

Deng, 19, died of head injuries during a "glass ceiling" ritual. Deng was rushing Pi Delta Psi, an Asian-American fraternity at Baruch, during the weekend mountain retreat in 2013. During the hazing ritual, Deng and other pledges were asked to cross an icy lawn while blindfolded, carrying backpacks filled with sand and being pounded by fraternity members. Prosecutors said that Deng was knocked out after being tackled to the ground, and that fraternity members waited hours before seeking help. (For more New York City news, subscribe to Patch news alerts here.)

Lead image via Patch.