WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The physical abuse case against Maui County’s top civil legal professional could be turned over to the state Attorney General’s Office to analyze, Maui Mayor Mike Victorino said Monday.
Corporation Counsel Patrick Wong, fifty-three, was placed on administrative go away Saturday after officials arrested him at a Wailuku home for abuse of a household member. A spokesman for the Maui Police Department stated Wong changed into released after posting $1,000 bail. The mayor said he became upset during the arrest. “Mr. Wong and I have met. It is an unfortunate incident ― for me, not an incident that I can tolerate,” stated Victorino. “He gave me his face, and I had been capable of meeting the opposite celebration, and she gave me her face, and I’m expecting the police to place all of the facts on the table.”
Victorino said he wanted the kingdom’s Attorney General’s Office to take over the case to prevent any appearance of conflict of interest. The Department of Corporation Counsel’s first deputy, Edward Kushi, will fill in for Wong. Wong’s arrest follows a tough confirmation system, throughout which a few expressed concerns approximately how Wong interacts with the body of workers and others. “I assume it type of speaks to the issue about why some of us had worries about public confidence, why we believed folks who got here ahead with tales of intimidation,” said Council Chair Kelly King. Wong becomes reappointed final month by a five-to-4 vote after Maui Councilwoman Tasha Kama switched her vote to assist him. Councilwoman Alice Lee, who voted in favor of Wong, said she was greatly surprised and dismayed by way of the abuse allegation. “We want to get on with the county’s business, and I could surmise that the research into the allegations against Mr. Wong would take some time,” she stated. “I consider it a nice hobby of moving the county ahead; perhaps he should take into account stepping down.” Councilwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez opposed Wong’s affirmation. “It took home violence, seen accidents on a terrible lady’s frame, for the council to peer the fact about him,” she stated.