FBI renews search for fugitive in 1991 Boston Chinatown Massacre

The FBI is offering a new $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Hung Tien Pham, a Vietnamese man wanted in the execution-style killings of five people at a Boston Chinatown social club 35 years ago this month.

What happened: Six men were shot in the head while playing cards in the basement of a Tyler Street property in the early morning hours of Jan. 12, 1991. Five victims died, while the sixth survived and later assisted investigators in identifying three suspects. The motive for the attack remains undetermined. Pham, a Vietnamese national of Chinese descent, abandoned his two children and their mother in Dorchester and immediately fled. He traveled to Atlantic City to gamble, then departed from New York City on a Hong Kong-bound flight on Feb. 1, 1991.

Investigators later linked Pham to the Ping On crime syndicate, a major Asian organized crime operation. His last confirmed sighting placed him in Bangkok during the mid-to-late 1990s, where the trail went cold. He remains classified as armed and dangerous. Now 65, he also faces charges for a separate homicide committed on Jan. 8, 1991, four days before the massacre. His two accomplices, however, fared differently: Nam The Tham and Siny Van Tran were eventually apprehended in China, brought back to face charges and convicted of murder in Suffolk County, where they are serving life sentences in Massachusetts.

Why this matters: The renewed push underscores law enforcement’s determination to resolve cold cases that left deep scars on close-knit communities. For decades, the massacre has haunted Boston’s Chinatown, leaving grieving families without resolution. FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta said, “We know this crime has haunted the Chinatown community for decades, and we hope this renewed effort will produce real results that might give the victims’ families — who have already endured so much heartache — some much-needed closure.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit http://tips.fbi.gov to submit tips.