The Federal Bureau of Investigation has renewed its search for fugitive Hung Tien Pham, 35 years after the infamous Boston Chinatown Massacre, according to an FBI statement.
Pham, who is now 60, is wanted for his involvement in the 1991 execution-style murders of five men in Boston’s Chinatown social club, according to the FBI. Federal officials have released new wanted posters, age-progressed photos, and are offering a $30,000 reward to help aid their search.
In 2021, Richard Soo, a Chinatown business owner and community leader, told NBC Boston how the murders upset the community.
“Everybody was in shock. It just doesn’t happen in Boston. We don’t encounter massacres. That was just unheard of,” Soo said.
According to the FBI, Pham was a known associate of the Ping On crime syndicate. On Jan. 12, 1991, he’s accused of entering an illegal gambling club with two other men, Medium reported in 2025. Six men were shot while playing cards, and only one survived.
Days later, officials issued a warrant for his arrest, and later a grand jury indicted him. He was charged with five counts of murder, one count of armed assault with intent to murder, one count of conspiracy, and one count of carrying a firearm without a license, the FBI reported.
However, Pham managed to flee to New York, where he boarded a flight to Hong Kong.
According to the FBI, his last known location was Bangkok, Thailand in the mid-to-late 90’s.
“By all accounts, he was the linchpin of the execution of the homicides,” said FBI Special Agent Tom Zukauskas in a 2021 FBI article. Zukauskas worked on a violent crimes task force in the Boston Field Office at the time.
After an international manhunt, the other two shooters involved, Nam The Tham and Siny Van Tran, were arrested in China in 2001, The Medium reported. In 2005, they were convicted and are now serving five life sentences.
Records show that Pham traveled to Canada, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and Hong Kong since he evaded arrest, his wanted poster reported. According to the FBI, he’s known to be a big spender who likes flashy cars and cognac.
Boston Police Lt. Dan Duff, who worked on the investigation, told the FBI in a 2021 Vodcast video that the murder motives are unknown. However, the incident greatly affected the community’s businesses at the time.
“I think it affected everyone—not only from the city but from the surrounding areas, too—because Chinatown, where this happened, is a big tourist area,” said Duff. “So, when you hear there’s been five people murdered in Chinatown, that can send the wrong signal to people that maybe this isn’t a safe area.”
According to the FBI, Pham has ties to Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Toronto, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The Vietnamese national of Chinese descent is between 5’2” and 5′ 4” with brown eyes. He weighs 115 to 135 pounds.
“He’s out there somewhere and somebody knows where he is,” Duff told NBC Boston in 2021.
Registration is closed for Common Ground: Building Together conference and gala award banquet in San Francisco on January 24. A shoutout to our planning committee: Jane Chin, Frank Mah, Jeannie Young, Akemi Tamanaha, Nathan Soohoo, Mark Young, Dave Liu, and Yiming Fu.
We are published by the non-profit Asian American Media Inc and supported by our readers along with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, The Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, The Asian American Foundation & Koo and Patricia Yuen of the Yuen Foundation.
Find additional content on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram ,Tiktok, X, and YouTube. Please consider interning or joining our staff. Don’t miss a single headline. Subscribe for free.
