holgerdanske.com

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1938 -- 11/17/2008 >>>>>

Two bizarre events recently occurred in California.

HEADLINE #1: Test Engineer goes postal

A test engineer was fired from a company called Siport. Shortly after Jing
Hua Wu had been fired, he had a meeting with three SiPort executives. He
pulled out a 9-mm handgun and killed them. The three killed were Marilyn
Lewis, 67, of San Jose, the company's head of human resources; Brian Pugh,
47, of Los Altos, vice president for operations; and Sid Agrawal, 56, of
Fremont, the company's co-founder and chief executive.

On the surface it doesn't appear that race or ethnicity had anything to do
with Wu's cold blooded and premeditated murders, although at this time
there isn't enough information to conclude what motivated him. The murder
of Sid Agrawal is causing quite a buzz on Indian news websites because many
Indians consider him to be a successful example of an NRI (non-resident
Indian). He held a degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT-Kanpur and
then earned a master's degree in engineering from the University of
Southern Illinois. Agrawal was probably a naturalized citizen because has
been in the U.S. since 1975.

The two others who were murdered were non-Indians, so there seems to be no
pattern to Wu's madness besides the fact that he wanted to take out the
executives who terminated his employment.

HEADLINE #2: UC postdoctoral researcher charged in colleague's poisoning

Benchun Liu, a postdoctoral researcher at the UCSF urology department,
twice tried to poison Mei Cao, a female colleague by putting laboratory
chemicals in her drinking water. Very little has been said about either of
these two people except that Benchun Liu is a Chinese citizen here on a
work visa. More than likely the visa is an H-1B, but without further
information it's tough know anything his or her immigration status. The
court put Liu on immigration hold without bail. About all we know about the
victim is that she is a research associate at the university.

The news reports of these incidents leave a lot to be desired because they
are vague on details and superficial about who the perpetrators and the
victims are, and what were their motivations for the crimes. I have spent
hours searching the internet on these cases and have found that almost all
the articles are not much more than repeats of the ones copied below. Good
luck finding more. I suspect the university and other agencies scrubbed
information off the web because it's as if the people involved didn't
exist. I couldn't find one biography of any of the people involved. Let me
know if you do.

Without more information it's very difficult to determine if these crimes
were random incidents of violence caused by the pressure cooker of the
high-tech work environment in Silicon Valley. So many of the jobs, whether
in academia or industry in that area are dehumanizing and over demanding.
It's a wonder that more people haven't gone postal.

So, just why is there so little real information on these two crimes? It's
been my experience that when news stories have been around this long, and
the stories are so lacking of substance, the mainstream media is hiding
something. I have no proof, but I think there were factors involved in one
or both of these crimes that involved immigration, race, ethnicity, or
culture. Just guessing though......

It's no secret in Silicon Valley that there is animosity between the
Chinese and Indian communities that is partly caused by the fact that they
are competing in the same job market. Don't be fooled by the liberal media
that wants you to believe that the Bay Area is a melting pot -- it's a pot
that's melting!

http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100125
SiPort issues statement following tragic shooting

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11005968?source=most_viewed
Murder suspect Jing Hua Wu to be arraigned in San Jose on Wednesday

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/16/MNSL145QF5.D...
Families in shock over Silicon Valley slayings

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3717452.cms
Indian-American CEO of tech firm killed in US shooting

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=mEnNUNoLC6w=
Killer of Indian American CEO arrested

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/12/BABA142C6E.D...

UC lab worker charged in colleague's poisoning

http://cbs5.com/local/ucsf.poison.researcher.2.863720.html
Alleged UCSF Poisoner Pleads Not Guilty
(web page has video report)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100125

SiPort issues statement following tragic shooting

Mark LaPedus
(11/16/2008 1:11 AM EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212100125

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- SiPort Inc. on Saturday (Nov. 15) issued a statement
amid a tragedy at the chip startup. In the somber statement, SiPort offered
condolences to the families and friends of the victims who were fatally
shot at the company.
As reported, a former employee at the Silicon Valley chip startup, which is
backed by Intel Corp., returned to the facility on Friday (Nov. 14) and
fatally shot three people, according to reports.

The suspect, Jing Hua Wu, 47, was arrested on Saturday (Nov. 15) in
Mountain View, Calif., according to reports. This week, Wu was apparently
fired from his test engineering job at SiPort (Santa Clara, Calif.),
according to reports.

Wu was ''terminated'' and was not part of a general layoff, as previously
thought. SiPort has never had a general layoff in the history of the
company, according to a statement issued by SiPort.

Shortly after he had been fired on Friday, Wu walked into the offices of
SiPort, according to reports. Wu and three SiPort executives went into a
room. Wu then pulled out a 9-mm handgun and shot all three, the reports
said.

As previously feared, Wu killed three employees. The three victims were Sid
Agrawal, CEO; Brian Pugh, vice president of operations; and Marilyn Lewis,
human resources manager.

"The entire SiPort staff and board are in mourning. We are a close-knit
team of engineers and entrepreneurs who built this company together. We are
devastated by the loss and our hearts go out to the families and friends of
Sid, Brian and Marilyn," said Aiman Kabakibo, the new CEO and company
founder, in a statement.

Agrawal joined SiPort as CEO in 2004 and is credited with helping secure
funding for the company, building out the executive staff and forming
connections with early customers.

''He is known for his intelligence, approachability and warmth, as well as
a leadership style that emphasized mentoring,'' according to the statement.

Pugh served as vice president of operations and was responsible for
transforming SiPort into a manufacturing operation. He attended Stanford
University and was ''known as a brilliant, high-energy engineer,''
according to the statement.

Marilyn Lewis served as the HR manager ''and was the glue that held the
company together. She managed a variety of human resource and
administrative functions including recruiting, payroll and vendor
management. Marilyn joined the company in 2005 and was a key contributor to
the growth of SiPort,'' according to SiPort.

"All three people were extremely well liked and will be sorely missed. We
are a team of entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists who enjoy working
with each other very much. We grieve along with their families and
friends," said Kabakibo.

Formed in 2004, SiPort is a fabless semiconductor company developing mixed
signal RF and digital baseband wireless receiver chips supporting multiple
Digital Broadcast Standards. Investors in the startup include Lightspeed
Venture Partners, Morgenthaler, New Venture Partners and Intel Capital.

The startup is reportedly betting the first application for its chip will
be portable GSP devices, given HD Radio's ability to datacast real-time
traffic information from local radio stations in far more detailed and
comprehensive fashion than is currently available via the analog FM band.

In August, SiPort---a supplier of digital terrestrial broadcast receiver
ICs that is partly backed by Intel Corp.--said that its device received
''HD Radio Ready'' certification from iBiquity Digital Corp. IBiquity is
the developer and licensor of HD Radio technology.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11005968?source=most_viewed

Murder suspect Jing Hua Wu to be arraigned in San Jose on Wednesday
By Lisa Fernandez

Mercury News

Article Launched: 11/17/2008 11:06:18 AM PST

Booking mug of Jing Hua Wu, arrested in connection with the... (Courtesy
Santa Clara County Sheriff)«1»

The recently fired engineer suspected of killing three colleagues at their
Santa Clara office last week is expected to be arraigned in Santa Clara
County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Santa Clara police spent the weekend "trying to tie up loose ends and are
still investigating the case'' regarding why Jing Hua Wu made an
appointment Friday afternoon with top executives at SiPort on Scott
Boulevard, and then shot them with a 9 mm handgun, Lt. Mike Sellers said
today.

The three killed were Marilyn Lewis, 67, of San Jose, the company's head of
human resources; Brian Pugh, 47, of Los Altos, vice president for
operations; and Sid Agrawal, 56, of Fremont, the company's co-founder and
chief executive.

Sellers said police will likely wrap up their preliminary investigation by
Tuesday and forward their findings to the District Attorney's Office then.
Wu's arraignment is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Santa Clara County Coroner did not release any information about the
victims.

Wu is being held without bail in jail after being arrested Saturday morning
in a shopping center parking lot.

Wu was fired from SiPort, a small semiconductor company, Friday morning
because of poor performance issues, company officials said. Police said Wu
asked for a meeting with top executives later that day -- and they agreed.

Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@mercurynews.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/16/MNSL145QF5.D...

Families in shock over Silicon Valley slayings

Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, November 17, 2008

Sid Agrawal spun a Silicon Valley success story after emigrating from India
alone and with just a few dollars in his pocket.

Marilyn Lewis was so devoted to work that when she told her two daughters
she wanted to take off with them on a Hawaiian cruise a few years ago, they
wondered if she had been diagnosed with cancer and given just a few months
to live.

And Brian Pugh, despite being known for a sharp mind, reminded some people
of Santa Claus. He had a bit of the look, friends said, and some of the
spirit as well.

The three people were fatally shot Friday at a startup Santa Clara
semiconductor firm, allegedly by an engineer who had been fired that
morning for poor performance. They were fondly recalled Sunday by
relatives, friends and colleagues, many of whom gathered to support each
other and arrange for funerals.

The common emotion seemed to be disbelief - that the victims could be taken
away in such a seemingly senseless fashion.

"We're never going to have our mom back, and shame on him," said Cindy
Andersen of Howell, Mich., the older of Lewis' daughters. "He has taken
away something from us that will never be replaced."

>From her brother's home in Dublin, Andersen said, "It's absolutely your
worst nightmare. You never, ever think this is going to happen to a family
member."

Andersen and others said they were relieved that suspect Jing Hua Wu, a
47-year-old father of three from Mountain View, had been arrested Saturday
morning and jailed on suspicion of three counts of murder.

Suspect In Santa Clara jail
The test engineer at SiPort, a 4-year-old wireless chip company, was held
without bail at the Santa Clara County Jail on Sunday.

Police said Wu, after he was fired, returned at 3 p.m. to the company
office on Scott Boulevard and requested a meeting with Agrawal, the
company's chief executive, as well as Pugh, the vice president of
operations, and Lewis, who managed the office and handled human resources.

Without warning, Police Chief Steve Lodge said, Wu pulled out a 9mm pistol
and shot his colleagues at 3:53 p.m. He then fled without harming any of
the other three dozen or so employees at the firm, Lodge said.

Sunder Velamuri, SiPort's vice president of marketing, said Sunday that
Wu's firing was based on performance, but that the company was "trying to
be accommodating in every way possible," including offering to give Wu
references for another job.

"This was not expected in the least," Velamuri said.

Family members of the victims said they did not recall them talking about
Wu or expressing any concern about him.

The renaissance man
For Agrawal, the shooting ended the life of a 56-year-old renaissance man
who started out with almost nothing and became a car racer and a collector
of fine art and wine. He arrived in the United States from India in 1975
with little more than a change of clothes and a desire to do better, said
his son, Ashish Agrawal.

"It was the American dream," the son said in an interview from his parents'
home in Fremont.

The elder Agrawal earned a master's degree in engineering from the
University of Southern Illinois, then returned to India, where he met and
marry his wife, Asha. After bringing her back to the United States, she
sold photo supplies door to door to put him through the University of
Chicago's business school.

Agrawal later worked for Intel and others before specializing in launching
small startups. He was named SiPort's first chief executive in 2004.

Agrawal was the first in his family to attend college. Now, his sons,
Ashish and Ankur, are a UCSF medical school student and a Harvard
undergraduate, respectively. And Agrawal had long sent money back to India,
underwriting the education of relatives.

"He built his life around others," Ashish Agrawal said, "so even when he's
gone, we're still here, and we're a representation of what he's done. I'm
happy I'll be able to live my life representing him, and I hope he's
proud."

She lived for work, the kids
Lewis' three grown children were together Sunday at the home of her son,
Tye Lewis. They remembered their 67-year-old mother as a talented, generous
and upbeat person who lived for work and for her children and five
grandchildren. She absolutely had to keep busy, and recently took a "sewing
cruise," which led to the giving of canvas bags to all family members.

"She had ants in her pants," Andersen said.

Lewis joined SiPort in 2005 and became "the glue that held the company
together," said Velamuri, the SiPort vice president of marketing.

Lewis' younger daughter, Tracy Hockett of Antelope (Sacramento County),
said her 9-year-old son had been looking forward to his grandmother's
birthday on Dec. 7. The plan was to go to Hometown Buffet.

"We're still going to go to Hometown Buffet, and all we're going to eat is
dessert," Hockett said. "It's silly stuff like that that we're going to
miss."

The engineer and singer
Friends in the Bay Area, San Diego and beyond were mourning Pugh, 47, who
would have been facing a difficult decision Saturday when Cal and Stanford
play football in the Big Game. Pugh earned his undergraduate degree from UC
Berkeley and a master's of science degree from Stanford.

Pugh joined SiPort last year after moving back to his native Bay Area from
San Diego with his wife, Carol Pugh, and his two children, 5-year-old
Nicholas and 3-year-old Christina. The family bought a home in Los Altos.

Pugh was a "brilliant engineer with a terrific, wry sense of humor,"
Velamuri said. "A high-energy guy."

Outside work, Pugh sang as a tenor and a featured soloist in the Peninsula
Chorale, said fellow tenor Lara Colvert.

"I'm very sorry I won't be able to hear his voice again," Colvert said. "I
have young kids, and I'm trying to figure out how to explain this to them.
But I can't even explain it to myself."

Craig Rumbaugh, who met Pugh through a San Diego church, was also
struggling for answers. He recalled his friend as religious and generous,
and as the perfect person to ask for advice on technology.

"He kind of looked like Santa Claus," Rumbaugh said of Pugh, who was a bit
soft around the middle. "He had the red nose and the cheeks and the eyes,
and also the love and the joy of Kris Kringle.

"This is just one of those tragic things that you never think would happen
to someone you know. When it does, you can only focus on the good memories
and try to support the family. Because there's no explanation."

E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3717452.cms

Indian-American CEO of tech firm killed in US shooting

16 Nov 2008, 0041 hrs IST, Hemali Chhapia, TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES

SILICON VALLEY/MUMBAI: Less than two months after the managing director of
Italian firm Graziano's Indian subsidiary was lynched in Noida by sacked
workers, IIT-educated Sid Agrawal, the CEO of a US semiconductor company,
was shot dead by a laid-off worker in California. ( Watch )

Police are searching for Jing Hua Wu, 47, who worked as a lead product test
engineer for the four-year-old firm, SiPort, till a few days ago when he
was laid off. Wu is also reported to have shot SiPort's vice-president of
operations, Brian Pugh, and a woman whose identity is withheld. It is not
clear if Wu was retrenched because of the economic slowdown.

Investigators are trying to find out if this led him to kill teh company's
top management. A massive manhunt is on for Wu, who is reported to have
driven off in a silver SUV.

According to a report in the San Jose Mercury newspaper, Friday's violent
scene erupted just before 4 pm. Police say Wu reached SiPort's offices and
began shooting.

Agrawal was an electrical engineeer who graduated from IIT Kanpur in 1974.
He moved to the US and did his MS from Southern Illinois University and MBA
from the University of Chicago.

He was all set to visit IIT-K next month for the 35th reunion of his batch.
He was excited at the prospect of meeting his batchmates, said Kripa
Shanker, former deputy director of the institute. In a tragic coincidence,
L K Chaudury, the slain CEO of Graziano India, was also from IIT-Kanpur.

Agrawal became an entrepreneur after working with leading tech companies
such as Intel, Bell Labs and Adobe. Abhay Bhushan, president of the IIT-K
alumni association, described him as a passionate entrepreneur. Each time
he got bored, he started a new company. There’s so much to learn he would
say, Bhushan said. Agrawal is survived by wife Asha and two sons.

SiPort, which was Agrawal’s fourth or fifth venture, is a small firm
specialising in developing digital radio semiconductors.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=mEnNUNoLC6w=

15 Nov 2008 11:32:00 PM IST

Killer of Indian American CEO arrested

CALIFORNIA: Jing Hua Wu, who gunned down Sid Agrawal, the Indian American
CEO of a semi-conductor company, along with two of his top officials Friday
afternoon, was arrested by the Santa Clara Police Saturday.
Jing, 47, now facing triple homicide charge, was arrested by the police
Saturday morning outside a business in Mountain View, the neighborhood
where the assailant apparently lived. He was let go by the company Friday
morning, which the police suspects could have been the main reason for this
shooting spree at the office of SiPort Inc in Santa Clara.
Santa Clara Police chief Steve Lodge said the assailant was unarmed and
made no resistance at the time of arrest. The arrest followed a massive
manhunt launched by the police soon after the shootout Friday afternoon.
Following his arrest, Jing was interrogated by police. No details were
however available immediately.
The police said Jing has been arrested on charges of killing three top
officials of SiPort Inc.
Sid Agrawal, 56, an electrical engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur, was
the CEO and director of the company. The other two victims identified by
the police included Marilyn Lewis, 67, company's head of human resources
and Brian Pugh, 47, vice president (operations) of the company.
Addressing a press conference after the arrest, Santa Clara Police Chief
conceded that the shooting spree has caused "genuine fear in the
community". With global economic meltdown, a lot of people in Silicon
Valley are facing job cuts.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/12/BABA142C6E.D...

UC lab worker charged in colleague's poisoning

Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

(11-11) 17:47 PST SAN FRANCISCO --

A postdoctoral researcher in the UCSF urology department has been charged
with attempted murder after allegedly admitting that he twice tried to
poison a colleague by putting laboratory chemicals in her drinking water,
authorities said Tuesday.

The bizarre scheme ended when researcher Benchun Liu, 38, allegedly told
the colleague, lab technician and research assistant Mei Cao, that he had
tried to kill her, police said.

The two work together in the Baskin Lab on the university's Parnassus
campus. Liu, a Chinese citizen here on a work visa, was arrested Friday and
was charged Monday with attempted murder and putting poison in a drink. He
is in the County Jail on an immigration hold; no bail has been set.

Police said Liu tried to poison Cao twice, first on Oct. 24 and again
sometime the following week. He admitted the scheme in the first week of
November, authorities said.

"If he hadn't have told her, we would have had no idea he was doing this,"
said UCSF police Capt. Paul Berlin.

Liu told police that he had been "stressed out" in recent weeks, but
otherwise, investigators aren't sure why he might have tried to poison Cao.

He told investigators that in both attempted poisonings, he had used a
buffer agent designed to control acid in lab solutions, Berlin said.

The agent turns water blue, but Cao drank it anyway, Berlin said.

"It was discolored - she noticed it," Berlin said. "She did swallow some of
the contents. She claimed to have no reaction, but that is short term. We
don't know what the long-term impact will be on her body."

Cao was examined at the UCSF Medical Center and was released, police said.

Berlin said police found the solution in searches of Liu's property at the
lab and at his home. Liu confessed that he had tried to kill Cao and even
cooperated in a videotaped re-enactment of the poisonings, police said.

"He won't give us a motive, but he claims he was stressed out at work,"
Berlin said.

Cao, he added, "is a little taken aback by this."

She was unable to say why Liu might have tried to kill her, Berlin said.

"They had just a working relationship - no romantic relationship," he said.
"They both work in the lab, and I guess there is some competition in the
lab. You could speculate for days. But what was exactly on his mind, only
he knows."

Dr. Laurence Baskin, head of the program where the two work, declined to
comment.

E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://cbs5.com/local/ucsf.poison.researcher.2.863720.html

Nov 13, 2008 1:37 pm US/Pacific
Alleged UCSF Poisoner Pleads Not Guilty
CBS 5 CrimeWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ? A University of California at San Francisco
researcher accused of trying to poison a female coworker pleaded not guilty
Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court to charges of attempted murder,
poisoning and assault with a deadly weapon, his attorney said.

Ben Chun Liu, 38, a Chinese post-doctoral student in the United States on a
work visa, was arrested Friday and remained in custody Thursday on a
no-bail immigration hold.

Liu allegedly poured a lab chemical into the drinking water of 44-year-old
lab technician Mei Cao on two occasions in recent weeks, according to
university police. The first incident occurred Oct. 23, police said.

The chemical was identified as ethidium bromide, according to court
documents filed today by prosecutors.

Ethidium bromide is used commonly in laboratories and, according to federal
safety guidelines, is considered hazardous if ingested. However, little is
known about its long-term toxic effects on humans.

Following the incidents, Cao was examined at the UCSF Medical Center and
later released. She is in good health now, police said.

Liu's attorney Bill Fazio said Thursday he is still reviewing evidence in
the case, but argued that if the chemical is not a poison, his client would
be innocent of the charges, even if he had intended to use the chemical to
poison someone.

Both Liu and Cao worked at the university's urology department, according
to the school.

Police said Cao noticed there was something in the water after drinking
some of it, and notified police after Liu allegedly admitted to her that he
had tried to poison her.

A motive for the alleged poisoning was still not known.

Liu would only tell police that he had been "stressed out," police said.

According to police, the two had worked together at the lab for at least a
year, and did not have a romantic relationship.

Police said Liu had never expressed any hostility toward Cao.

Liu was scheduled to return to court Friday to set a date for his
preliminary hearing, Fazio said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Newsletter Homepage:
http://www.JobDestruction.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm

Support this Newsletter and www.JobDestruction.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm

To Be removed from this mailing list, reply to this
email with UNSUbSCRIBE in the subject window
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -