BLOODY MISTAKE
Hired thug slashed wrong Qns. girl: cops
The Chinese exchange student slashed on a Queens street last December was mistakenly attacked by someone hired by a jealous fiend to maim his 14-year-old girlfriend, police said Thursday.
The attacker had not bothered to learn who his target was and slashed the first Asian woman he saw on the street, cops said.
The innocent victim, Jia Jia Liang, 16, just happened to be walking by on her way to school (inset).
Wilson Lai, 25, and Devon Timothy Berkley, 37, of Pennsylvania, were arrested in connection with the Dec. 16 attack Thursday, with Lai accused of hiring Berkley.
Lai had become convinced that his underage gal pal was cheating on him and decided to have her slashed, according to police.
The attacker, who was wearing a surgical mask at the time, didn’t realize he had the wrong girl as he sliced her face, leaving her with cuts
requiring 200 stitches, police said.
Liang has suffered from nightmares and scarring since the attack, she has told The Post exclusively.
Lai may have also hated the 14year-old girl’s brother, who owed him money, police sources said. Liang is now hoping to undergo corrective surgery for her facial scarring, her lawyer, Gary Park, said Thursday.
“I have spoken to her mother who is in China, and she is very happy that these men have been caught,” Park said.
Lai was also hit with rape charges for his relationship with the 14-year-old, in addition to counts of assault and child endangerment.
He has nine prior arrests. Those charges were not available.
Berkley was arrested in Allentown, Pa., Thursday but had yet to be charged Thursday night.
It was unclear on Thursday how much Lai might have paid Berkley, cops said.