[Cambodian-American] Taxi Cab Driver Dies After Brutal Attack

Father Of Two Children; Enjoyed Work, Cooking

May 3, 2010
KITV (Honolulu, Hawaii)

HONOLULU -- A taxi driver brutally beaten in a Waipahu parking lot early Saturday has died.

Honolulu police are investigating his death as a homicide.

Charlys Tang turned 41 years old Saturday.

Police said early that morning two men robbed and beat Tang when he confronted them over not paying.

Police said the men fled leaving Tang bleeding in the parking lot at Times Supermarket in Waipahu.

“Thank you for being the best dad ever. Thank you for teaching us how to play a sport and for taking us to the beach,” wrote 13-year old Jarvis Tang in a birthday card he wrote to his father.

Tang met Elissa Ramos after moving to Hawaii from Cambodia.

The couple had two children together, son Jarvis and 10-year- old Aprille, but they never married.

“It’s just very sad because my kids love him so much, and he loves the kid so much,” said Ramos.

Ramos said Tang worked long hours to provide for his children.

“He’s a good person and he tries his best to take care of us and he tries to make us a good person as he is,” said Tang’s daughter, Aprille.

Tang loved to cook, a passion he shared with his children.

“I will miss how teaches me how to cook and try to add recipes,” said Aprille Tang.

“He taught me how to cook some food and how to swim and how to ride a bike,” said Tang’s 13-year- old son, Jarvis.

Several years ago, Tang married another woman but remained very close to his children.

His family says he treated everyone kindly.

Tang's son didn't get to give the birthday card to his father.

He says if he could, he would add one more thing:

“I would tell him how great of a dad he was,” said Jarvis Tang.

Tang’s family donated his heart.

---Police Investigate Homicide----

Honolulu police released sketches of the two men wanted in connection with Tang's slaying.

Police described the first suspect as a man, 5'4" to 5'7" tall, weighing 140 to 150 pounds.

The second man is described as 5'8" to 5"11" tall, weighing 155 to 180 pounds.

Police say they they both have black hair and brown eyes and they are about the same age, between 17 to 23 years old.

If you have any information on this case, call Crimestoppers at 9-5-5-8-3-0-0.

[Cambodian-American] Pizza delivery man killed in Richmond

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle (Calif., USA)

A pizza deliveryman trying to find an address in Richmond was shot and killed during a possible robbery attempt, police said today.

Thanh Thach, 38, a father of two who lived in Richmond with his wife, was shot at about 9 p.m. Monday as he was trying to deliver a pizza on South 45th Street, authorities said.

Thach, who had been working at Pizza Hut for less than six weeks, was searching for a location on the 900 block of South 45th Street when he was accosted on the 800 block by one or two men, police said.

The assailants shot Thach twice and fled without taking the pizza or any of Thach's property, said Richmond police Lt. Mark Gagan.

The motive for the slaying was unclear, although it's possible that it was a "robbery gone bad," Gagan said.

Thach was on his cell phone with the person who ordered the pizza when the phone went dead, Gagan said. Just a few seconds later, the customer heard shots ring out nearby, he said.

Investigators do not believe the slaying resulted from a setup, as the people who ordered the pizza have ordered on several previous occasions, Gagan said.

"They were very cooperative with the investigation," Gagan said. "They were visibly shaken by the fact that he had been murdered."

Thach was trying to make enough money to bring his mother to the United States from their native Cambodia, said his wife, who didn't want her name used out of concern for her safety.

Thach was the father of two sons, ages 3 and 18 months.

Thach had been working for Pizza Hut for just four to six weeks and previously worked a temporary job at the U.S. Postal Service facility on Seventh Street in West Oakland.

"He is a very hard worker," his wife said. "He loved the kids so much. I feel like-it's unbelievable. I still feel he's alive."

After living in the U.S. for 13 years, he became a U.S. citizen in September, which was the happiest day of his life, his wife said.

"This is one of those that really hits home," Gagan said.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.