Lawyer for Chinese national seeks return of $20,000 seized by Westmoreland County district attorney's office

The son of a Chinese national who attacked a man in Greensburg with a meat cleaver is asking that $20,000 seized by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office be returned.

The situation apparently was the result of a misunderstanding and language barrier, attorney Mike Worgul wrote in a petition filed last week seeking to have the property returned.

Liwu Tian, 57, was sentenced in November to serve up to 23 months in jail and was deemed eligible for parole. He has since been released from the county jail after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated assault in the Aug. 15 attack. Prosecutors expected him to be subject to deportation proceedings.

It was at that November hearing that his son, Jianmin Tian, brought the $20,000 to the courthouse because he was under the impression his father owed the amount in restitution, according to the petition. The cash was seized by a county detective.

At a hearing a month earlier, the victim reported that Tian’s family offered to pay him $20,000 to withhold testimony and leave the area, according to prosecutors.

Officials at the district attorney’s office did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

There was no restitution ordered in the case, according to online court records. Liwu Tian owes $776.09 in costs and fees. Payments for restitution, costs and fees in criminal cases are made at the clerk of courts office.

“It is worth noting that neither Mr. Tian nor his father … are native English speakers,” Worgul wrote in the petition. “Both father and son require the assistance of a translator to converse with English speakers.”

Attempts to have the $20,000 returned to Jianmin Tian have been unsuccessful. Worgul argued in the motion that Tian was trying to help his father with a smooth resolution in the case and wasn’t involved in the crime.

“… the Commonwealth has provided no evidence of any alleged wrongdoing on his part,” Worgul wrote.

Liwu Tian was to be taken into custody by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency upon release from the county jail.

Police said Tian hit a 19-year-old man twice with a meat cleaver following an argument at a Main Street residence. Authorities said the men worked together at a Hempfield sushi restaurant and lived in a home owned by their employer.

A hearing will be scheduled on the petition at a later date.