State lawmaker pleads no contest to traffic crime
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Rep. Kaniela Ing in his office on Jan. 19 at the state Capitol. Ing released a statement saying his comments to The Maui News in July were wrong.
WAILUKU >> A Hawaii lawmaker charged with not having vehicle insurance says he was mistaken when he told the media last year he was ticketed while fixing his “undriveable” car outside his home.
Police said Rep. Kaniela Ing was driving his car when he was cited in January 2016 for failing to provide proof of insurance, The Maui News reported Thursday.
Ing, 28, released a statement saying his comments to the newspaper in July were wrong. At the time, Ing had been seeking re-election to the state House seat representing south Maui.
“As for my statements to the media over the summer, I stand corrected,” Ing said. “Once I saw the reports from this particular case it became clear to me that I was mistaken.”
Ing’s statement came Wednesday after he pleaded no contest to not having vehicle insurance. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of failure to appear.
The lawmaker had missed a February court date related to the traffic citation and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. He turned himself in on July 26 and posted $250 bail to be released.
Ing presented proof of insurance for the 2000 BMW during this week’s hearing.
“This plea deal has satisfied the State of Hawaii and has allowed me to get my personal matters out of the limelight so that I can move forward with the people’s business in the House,” Ing said in a statement.
51 responses to “State lawmaker pleads no contest to traffic crime”
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Alternate facts!
Honestly, who cares. He’s a pretty good rep. Always speaking up for the people.
Even if he messed this up, he still took responsibility for it. Pled no contest and is moving on.
I care. He was driving a vehicle that didn’t have insurance. This is against the law. I know laws are made to be broken but in this case there is a reason for the law. Cars can cause major damage and people need to be able to meet their obligations for their negligence. Doesn’t say much for this representative when he breaks the law like that. Glad he is not my rep.
Likewise boots. Mr. Ing is happy you are not one of his constituents.
typical Hawaii voter – he only took responsibility after he was outed
Your comment is what is soo wrong about some of our politicians. Politicians are up on a pedestal and our keiki look to them as role models. No matter how good this rep is he clearly knew that he was in violation. Now some keiki think its ok to cheat. This is the wrong message to deliver. Everyone should care when there is a politician, cop or judge openly breaking the law.
Let’s not sugarcoat his “misstatements”. He LIED, pure and simple, then only came clean when his silly claims became public. Integrity is not this man’s strongest suit. We’ve got a Billy Kenoi wannabe in the making here.
Actually, he’s not a good Rep. He’s a self-absorbed grandstander who’s always looking for a parade he can place himself in front of. He’s anti-ag and turned his back on hundreds of sugar cane workers he’s supposed to represent. Thanks to his antics, he has tremendous name recognition, which helps tremendously in an election.
His district needs an alternate representative.
They tried and failed miserably.
He told the truth after trying everything else.
IRT Allie, with his statement of truth, comes his resignation as a law maker, don’t you think?
yes!
One time and one time only I agree with alley. Where there’s smoke there is fire.
Ha ha! Good one, Hon
OMG…I agree with Allie!
He lied. He is known as Lying Ing in Kehei, new name. Everybody knows now.
“Mistaken”? Sounds like a bald-faced lie. The cover up attempts always make the original conduct worse. This is no exception. People may be broke when the insurance bill comes due. They may have forgotten top pay the bill. But those are not character flaws. Lying is.
Not only is Kaniela Ing an obvious straight up liar, but the nerve he has to think that he can fool the public with that lame response. Maui, time to remove this guy form public office – he does not represent you well. I wonder what else he makes up?
Ask the HPD Chief, the entire state of Hawaii is a complete Banana Republic. All of them lied and fabricated everything imaginable. Next We’ll hear from Krook Caldwell that the rail accidentally went through his house and we owe the lawmaker millions for the easement, even though he lives on another island! LOL
One of the local radio comentator went over his resume after his proposal on raising minimum wage, sounds embellished. He should be a millionare based on what stated he accomplished.
How can you mistake getting a ticket for driving without insurance versus fixing you undriveable car outside your home?
His original story was that he was fixing his car on the side of the road outside his house when they ticketed him for having no insurance on a public roadway. Which is, of course, a completely ridiculous lie.
I wouldn’t call it rediculous as I remember a case where a client had his car hit by a drunk. He was also ticketed as he didn’t have a no fault card for his vehicle. I got him one the next day but why concentrate on a victim’s error of losing a stupid piece of paper?
Vote the bum out. Very poor example of the kind of person who should be in the legislature or elected office or is he the poster child of the kind of legislatures that we do have
way too often. I kind of suspect that he is indeed the kind of person we do have too often in elected office.
Well he should be questioned as to why didn’t he have insurance. Perhaps there was an excuse like this agent had just died and his replacement didn’t know about his call?
Yes boots, bright idea, I’m sure if he just would have told the judge that HitLIARy assisted his insurance agent with legally assisted suicide everything would be completely fine as it’s widespread common rumor that the Clinton’s are a killing machine! LOL
On top of all of the above, he did not appear in court. That is a more seroius offense than driving without insurance.
That does NOT make him a “pretty good rep”.
I agree it is serious but there could be a reason why he missed it. Sadly they make court dates way in advanced. Its not unheard of to have just forgotten it or got the days mixed up or some other reason. It is amazing how many people don’t make their court dates, either the defendent or jury people.
And then they get arrested.
“It is amazing how many people don’t make their court dates”
You must be thinking of civil court. Criminal court is not the same league. A bench warrant for your arrest is serious business. A lawyer that can’t remember to show up to defend himself in court or file appropriate paperwork to defer/postpone the date is too incompetent to be a lawyer!
You know what, boots? You’ve been watching way too much Dog, The Bounty Hunter. The old “I missed my court date because..” excuse has got to be the most overused line.
No, its just that I remember showing up for jury duty but a lot of other people did not and the judge just issued Penil summons for them. I have also forgotten a jury duty date but was lucky as the trial was cancelled. Same with traffic court. A lot of people don’t show up and if they are all just thrown in jail, there wouldn’t be any room for real criminals.
Caught in a lie…..
You can fool some people, some of the time but not everyone, all of the time!
Lier lier now his pantys stay on fire.
I don’t really have any opinion for or against Mr.Ing as a legislator but I am a little concerned when someone can’t tell the difference between their auto in their driveway and their auto driving on a public roadway. Almost like the famous case of “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.” (see Amazon for book info.)
Seriously, it’s not that he couldn’t tell the difference, he’s just a plain liar……
There was no mistake, the highway technically moved and went right through his house as the zipper truck mistakenly went thrhough his area. Look, here’s a picture to prove it your honor… http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50b3b3be69beddbc1c00000d-590-339/china-nail-house.jpg LOL
Another fine “D”onkey rep. that drives a BMW but can’t pay for basic state minimum insurance! LMAO
Let me guess as to what really happened in court. He probably said to the judge: “Look at the evidence in ‘Exhibit A’ your honor, the highway really did go through my house!” Exhibit A: http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/house1-620×361.jpg
I’d love to see if his claimed proof of insurance that he presented to the court wasn’t fabricated with some fake Photoshop printout. I would love to know if the judge even bothered contact the insurance carrier and verify dates of coverage as proof that the coverage he presented was legitimate.
He has a 2000 BMW which is one step above junk. Anything that old shouldn’t be allowed on our roads in the first place. But, the real problem is that the guy is a snake in the same category as Muffi and the other politicians who are burying us in debt with their train to no where. We will never stop paying for the train and we have Muffi and the others to thank for that.
And…I don’t think it was a case of “can’t pay for basic state minimum insurance”. I think it was because he thought he could get away with it.
The reporting in the Maui News is much more comprehensive as to what really happened:
Saying “I was mistaken” when he made earlier statements about his citation for not having vehicle insurance, state Rep. Kaniela Ing pleaded no contest Wednesday to the traffic crime.
Ing was fined $500, but half of that was suspended for six months on the condition that he not be convicted of another offense. As part of a plea agreement with the prosecution, a charge of failure to appear was dismissed.
During the hearing Wednesday morning in Wailuku District Court, Ing’s attorney, Ben Lowenthal, presented proof of insurance for the blue 2000 BMW.
The insurance was obtained July 26, about six months after the Jan. 18, 2016, citation, said Deputy Prosecutor Terence Herndon.
In comments to The Maui News in July, as he was seeking re-election to the state House seat representing South Maui, Ing said he was ticketed for not having insurance while fixing his “undriveable” car on the street outside his Kihei residence.
But police said the citation was issued to Ing when he was driving the car as it turned onto South Kihei Road from Welakahao Road. Ing couldn’t produce proof of insurance when he was stopped for having an expired safety sticker and delinquent vehicle tax, police said.
Ing said he paid a fine for the ticket. But police said the citation doesn’t set a fine but noted a Feb. 18 court date for Ing to appear.
After he didn’t show up for the hearing, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. He was arrested on the warrant July 26 when he turned himself in at the Wailuku Police Station and posted $250 bail to be released.
In sentencing Ing on Wednesday, Judge Blaine Kobayashi followed the plea agreement reached between the defense and prosecution. Kobayashi didn’t suspend Ing’s driver’s license. Ing agreed to have the bail he posted applied to his fine.
When the judge asked Ing if he wanted to say anything in court, he replied, “No, sir.”
Afterward, Lowenthal released a statement by Ing, 28, who is also known as Mark K. Ing.
“This plea deal has satisfied the State of Hawaii and has allowed me to get my personal matters out of the limelight so that I can move forward with the people’s business in the House,” the statement said. “As for my statements to the media over the summer, I stand corrected. Once I saw the reports from this particular case it became clear to me that I was mistaken.
“My vehicle at the time was an older model with a lot of trouble. It is no longer on the road. As we all know, a vehicle must be insured before it’s driven on any of our roads in the State of Hawaii. I commend the police in handling this matter professionally and with aloha.”
After learning about Ing’s plea and sentencing, Barry Aoki, Maui Chapter chairman of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, said, “I’m glad he’s taking responsibility for his actions. And the officer involved will appreciate it also.”
One of the local radio comentator went over his resume after his proposal on raising minimum wage, sounds embellished. He should be a millionare based on what stated he accomplished.
The “lie” speaks volumes about his character. This is a classic example where the “lie” is worse than the crime. You’d think our lawmakers were smarter than this…..
A ticket for driving without insurance is only $500. This is how stupid our law makers are. I pay over $600 a year for (liability only) auto insurance but I have to have insurance to protect what I own. So if I didn’t own anything I would be a fool to buy auto insurance
cuz I pay only when & if I’m caught.
Of course he admits it NOW, after the election. And the next election is so far away that his constituents won’t even remember his lies by then. Probably same reason the legislative session ends in the spring . . . because no matter how mad the voters are, they will forget it all by the time November rolls around. And yet some other posters here criticize me for “always being negative” when I talk about Hawaii’s politicians. Decades of experience in Hawaii, people. That’s why.
In legal terms, no contest is the same as guilty!
“…so I can move forward with the people’s business in the House.” You can’t even handle your own business and we’re supposed to trust you with OUR business? I don’t think so. You’re not getting off the hook so easily, my friend. What makes you so special? Get your own house in order FIRST.
Many lawmakers underestimate the intelligence of their constituents. Although Mr. Ing has the right to plead no contest, it does not look good for him. He is guilty
of not having any insurance plain and simple. Perhaps the plea of no contest sounds better than a guilty plea. I don’t think that this guy can be trusted and the voters
should be aware of his slick behavior. It is just astounding that a state legislator failed to appear in court and was issued as bench warrant. His irresponsible behavior
cost the tax payers in terms of the work that the police and court had to do to process his case.
I know when my insurance expires and so should he. Weather he knew it or not when being questioned by new outlets I would have checked to make sure I gave the correct answer. He has struck out on all occasions.
Is this the same guy that wants to welcome in lots of immigrants from the mid-east? the ones that Europe is now finding out have embedded terrorists and want to force their customs onto the areas they moved into rather than adapt to the host country?