Ever since the Won Hong Kim passport scandal broke back in September of 2013, 7News and the entire media - for that matter - had been trying to get an interview with Eric Chang, who was the Deputy Mayor of Belize City at the time. 

While Citizen Kim was an Elvin Penner production, Chang's activities while in Taiwan at the time, brought him under suspicion as one of the main brokers of the deal to get the South Korean Fugitive Won Hong Kim a fraudulent Belizean passport.

But Chang never commented, ignoring repeated requests.  And even the Senate Inquiry had a difficult time getting him and Patrick Tillett to show up and testify.  Eventually, they had to compel both men to show up, which they finally did today. 

So, for the first time, Chang was publicly grilled on his alleged role in the Won Hong Kim saga. He showed up with his attorney, and after discussing the 8 missing visas, the Senators zeroed in on the Auditor General's mention of his role in the Citizen Kim saga. 

The Auditor General, in her report, quotes from an email which Cherie Nisbet, Belize's Ambassador to Taiwan, wrote to her superiors on September 16, 2013. She was reporting on Won Hong Kim's detention by the Taiwanese officials, and she explained in detail her interactions with Eric Chang. At the time, he was away in Taiwan representing the Belize City Council at the APEC Summit. 

Ambassador Nisbet's email says, quote, "I got an urgent call from Eric Chang, Deputy Mayor of Belize… Eric called me in a panic asking me if I could urgently issue a visa to two S. Korean nationals who NEED to go to Belize the next day. I asked Eric what was the emergency, as I needed to know what was the emergency before I could issue a visa, as well as I needed all documentation filled out and approved. Eric could not give me the reason for the emergency and told me that he may have had to call a "minister" in Belize to issue visas upon arrival."

Her letter continued to explain that on the following day, Chang called her back to say that he was at a detention center in Taiwan, visiting a South Korean National - that was Citizen Kim - and that Taiwanese Immigration may call her to verify that he is indeed  the Deputy Mayor of Belize. She said that Chang never told her that the person in detention was Won Hong Kim. 

Ambassador Nisbet, in her email went on to explain that Chang called her back to say that these 2 South Korean Nationals, who he was originally trying to get the visas for, were still interested. The Ambassador said that she asked Chang if he ever got to visit this Belizean who was in detention, and he said that he didn't.

The Auditor General's report quotes from another part of Ambassador Nisbet's email saying that she received a phone call from Taiwanese Immigration. These officials were calling to inform her that they are aware that Eric Chang was attempting to visit Won Hong Kim, and that it was not advisable for him to do so. 

When Chang finally made himself available for questioning today, the Senate asked him to explain what was so urgent that he needed to meet with Won Hong Kim in that detention center. Here's his long awaited side of the story:

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"The impression I get from reading email was that you're somehow involved in trying to get a visa for Wong Hong Kim."

Eric Chang - Former Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"No."

Hon. Aldo Salazar
"Or that these people were related to Wong Hong Kim and that they wanted visas."

Eric Chang
"Two separate person, not Wong Hong Kim, two different Koreans; during the apex summit I ended up meeting the gentleman named Alejandro Young, charge of affairs in Honduras during the summit. Me and the mayor met him during the summit there are a lot of people, I ended up meeting Mr. Young. He calls me and told me that some potential investors which are the two Koreans, they schedule a trip to Honduras and they were also like to take an opportunity to visit Belize as well, see if there is any business ventures - opportunities. Due that they told me it was urgent that they already schedules, already bought a ticket to Honduras, they said if I could possibly help them to get a Belize visa, they will come and pay Belize a visit. Mr. Young he's the one introduce the two Koreans to me."

Hon. Aldo Salazar
"He introduces the two Koreans who want and then he calls you again the following day."

Eric Chang
"He told me his two Korean friends told him that you know there is a Korean get detained in the Taiwan immigration detention centre and also is a Belizean. Well I said fine, they asked me Mr. Chang can you pay him a visit and see if there is any assistance you can offer him or assist him. To my mind, to me is a common practice in Belize, I'm an official translator. I don't really know anybody in Taiwan, I called the ambassador just to inform the ambassador that in case there is anybody from immigration trying to verify my status, see if I'm coming from Belize is true. I went to the Taiwan immigration detention centre, at the time in my mind because I heard he was immigration detention centre, it's not the media saying it was jail, he was not in jail, he was in the immigration detention centre. Let me see what he got himself into perhaps I can speak the language to help him get attorney or whatever assistance he might need."

"The immigration officer spoke to me say Mr. Chang deputy mayor, you know why Mr. Wong Hong Kim is here? I don't, I get this phone call from my friend, told me see if I could assist here, so I came. They told me Mr. Chang, this guy is not a good person, he's not here for immigration offence, he's done a lot of things in Korea which is not good things and as a born Taiwanese of course you hold your office in Belize right now of course we will look up if you can prosper internal whatever field it is, we really don't advise you to visit this guy because he is not a good person. We had a long conversation, I had a long conversation with the immigration officers to get to the detail, understand what happened. So therefore I draw, I back off, I did make an attempt, I was misled by Mr. Young, told me that there is a guy that need your help in immigration detention centre."

So, the Senate had an extended opportunity to examine and re-examine Eric Chang's version of events, and a few members of the Senate Committee were very skeptical of his testimony. So, they kept pressing him, which led to tense exchanges, and here's how a few of those looked:

Hon. Eamon Courtenay - PUP Senator
"You are telling us that Mr. Young is a diplomat?"

Eric Chang - Former Deputy Mayor of Belize City
"Yes he's a diplomat from Honduras."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"And this diplomat walked up to you, who was a stranger to him."

Eric Chang
"At first yes; we spoke to one another, we became friends, everybody became friends there at the summit."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So your friend now came to you, is that what you're telling u?"

Eric Chang
"Yes."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"And your friend tells you that there is a Belizean in prison and you out of the goodness of your heart thought that was a good thing to do?"

Eric Chang
"That's correct."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"When you called the ambassador, why didn't you tell the ambassador to go and look after the Belizean?"

Eric Chang
"Maybe it was my neglect, I think that was something small that was something small that I don't have to tell the ambassador right away, maybe I go and visit the person first and find out what is the matter then I call."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Mr. Chang all of this is incredible okay. Now I want to suggest to you right that you're not speaking the truth. Any Honduran diplomat would know that if there is a Belizean in prison that they would call the Belizean embassy and inform the Belizean embassy not a deputy mayor at a summit who has not accreditation in Taiwan."

Eric Chang
"Senator…"

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Yes sir."

Eric Chang
"I don't how to convince you-"

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"No, don't try to."

Eric Chang
"But I'm speaking the truth; Mr. Young did call me and asked me to see if I could assist this gentleman anywhere okay. I'm not trying to say that this was probably the right practice in terms of protocol but as far as I'm concerned I thought he think because me and him da friend, that's why he called me but unfortunately I was wrong."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So let me ask you, the chairman read to you what those emails from ambassador Nisbeth."

Eric Chang
"Yes I heard."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"All of those are accurate?"

Eric Chang
"Not all."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So she is lying on you as well?"

Eric Chang
"No, I think she just misinterprets but I don't think she's lying."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Explain the misinterpretation for us."

Eric Chang
"Ambassador say I called in a panic, I mean yes I called her because due to-"

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"It's right on page 14."

Eric Chang
"Yes they say it's urgent, Eric calls me in a panic asking if I could urgently issue a visa but I don't see where the panic come in right, I mean yes it is urgent, how urgent lead to panic? I mean that's just her opinion."

Hon. Aldo Salazar - Chairman, Senate Select Committee
"Why is it that you are unable to give her a reason for the necessity for the visa but you gave us the reason today which is that these were investors who wanted to come to Belize? Why didn't you tell ambassador Nisbeth?"

Eric Chang
"Because I learned afterwards. I thought it was a simple thing that just call the ambassador and say hey these two investors, can you assist, that was a simple thing in my mind that I didn't know it was so complicated."

Hon. Ashley Rocke - Church Senator
"It could be that all that you're telling us does not necessarily relate to the truth that we are seeking and what it seems like is that every time we challenge you with a story, the story never seems to have a good end or it doesn't seem to come to an end - there is always ambiguity along the way."

Eric Chang
"I think the reason why I'm here is because you guys want to hear my side of the story and here I am, I'm here to tell my side of the story. It's whether you guys believe it or not, I'm here just telling the truth and my side of the story, if you don't believe it, I can't do nothing much."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga - Business Senator
"Did you tell ambassador Nisbeth that you may have to call a minister in Belize?"

Eric Chang
"Yes I did."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Why did you say that?"

Eric Chang
"In my mind the potential investors, I really don't want this opportunity to go. If I'm doing something illegal I don't know why in the world I would call the embassy over and over and left a trail or whatever, to me it was anyhow- that was just something wise."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"You don't know why you said it?"

Eric Chang
"No because I think it's an investor, it concerns Belize if an investor wants to come to Belize to assist investor for a visa; there is nothing wrong with that."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"No but I asked you earlier if you'd ever intervene or ever helped anybody to get a visa but here you are in this instance, you immediately- I mean this is our ambassador in Taiwan and she is saying you kow I need more information and your first response was I'm going to call a minister to get the visa and you have no experience getting visas or helping people, am I correct?"

Eric Chang
"See I made the phone calls right, I'm not the person how you would put it-"

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"You make the phone calls and it happens, you never actually do it yourself."

Eric Chang
"No it's not true, that's not true."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Mr. Chang were you aware of any illegal or fraudulent practices or approvals within the immigration department?"

Eric Chang
"No I use to work at city council, I don't work at immigration."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"I know where you use to work and I know that you don't work at immigration, that was not the question, I said were you. I said were you aware of any illegal or fraudulent practices or approval within the department of immigration."

Eric Chang
"No I don't."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Did you have a relationship with Minister Elvin Penner?"

Eric Chang
"Yes, our friend."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"You were friends? You have a lot of friends."

Eric Chang
"I think all UDP members are friends and we are a big family."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"So when Mr. Young suggested to you that you go and visit Mr. Wong Hong Kim he didn't tell you but I have his passport?"

Eric Chang
"No he did not tell me, I didn't know he had the passport."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"All of this is a mystery."

Eric Chang
"Yes."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"All of this is very strange."

Eric Chang
"I think I was being, I don't want to use the word set up but I think I was being used. That's all I can say."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"By who?"

Eric Chang
"By Mr. Young."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Were you visiting Mr. Wong Hong Kim in your official capacity?"

Eric Chang
"No."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Right so you would have not brought up that you were the deputy mayor, so why did you call the ambassador to alert her that - that call might come?"

Eric Chang
"I don't know the protocol because I don't know what's the protocol in Taiwan, I mean I just make the phone calls in case the immigration try to verify my status."

Hon. Eamon Courtenay
"Mr. Chang I need to tell you this, your story is not believable from my perspective."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Mr. Chang the issue I'm having with you is that you are translator, you're supposed to understand this language very well because you translate in court and you say and make statements and then when you are questioned you try to change the definition or the interpretation of that statement. We have a transcript, I'm only going by what I'm hearing and we can read back the transcripts to you, as a matter of fact we can bring you back after we've read the transcripts and we probably will. You were friend with Mr. Penner so you're first instinct was to call him, is that the minister you were referring to? What minister were you going to call to help you with the visas? "

Eric Chang
"I mean I know most of the ministers,  I don't have anybody in mind."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"That is not my question Mr. Chang."

Eric Chang
"I don't have anybody in mind, I don't have anybody in mind. If I could have just called the minister and get the visa why would I call the embassy?"

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"So would you call any minister for help with the visa?"

Eric Chang
"I don't have anybody in mind at the time, it's just something that came out of my mouth, I don't think that it was going to be so serious today. If I could have got it through a minister just one phone call, why would I call the embassy to ask for visas for the investors?"

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Well because the ambassador was trying to do things according to her job description, there's a process a procedure which-"

Eric Chang
"I understand that, that's why when she asked me that I don't know what was the rationale behind the urgency that's why I told the ambassador thank you and that was our conversation."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Thank you as in I know where to go to not go through this procedure, I will call a minister and I'll get it done, that was the-"

Eric Chang
"I can tell you that I did not call any minister for any visa. The only thing I can say, I did not call any minister for any visa ever in my lifetime."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Did you know of a nationality certificate and a passport for Mr. Kim, did you know anything of that nationality certificate and passport for Mr. Kim?"

Eric Chang
"No."

Hon. Mark Lizarraga
"Were you involved in any way shape or form in assisting Mr. Kim in getting his nationality documents or his passport?"

Eric Chang
"No, Not at all."

Hon. Elena Smith - Labour Senator
"Just a final question, in your opening statement you said that you were ready to answer any questions and that you wanted to use this as an opportunity to clear your name in all of these matters."

Eric Chang
"Yes Senator."

Hon. Elena Smith
"Do you think you have cleared your name or smeared it a bit more?"

Eric Chang
"I told you guys whatever I know already so-"

Hon. Elena Smith
"Do you think you have cleared your name today or you have smeared it a bit more?"

Eric Chang
"I think so."

Hon. Elena Smith
"Which one?"

Eric Chang
"I think I have cleared my name in terms of everybody accused me, I'm the carrier for the passport which I'm not."

Hon. Elena Smith
"Do you think you have left us with more questions than answers?"

Eric Chang
"If you have I will love to answer it, whatever I know I will assist you with, I will try my best."

Hon. Elena Smith
"But we've been asking and you can't remember a lot of the important matters that we've been asking you, you can't remember."

Eric Chang
"Senator I can only answer what I remember right, I can't say otherwise."