Hong Quang Minh appears in court for an arraignment hearing with his attorney,
Do Phu, at the jail in Santa Ana on April 15, 2016.
(Photo: The Orange Country Register)

A Vietnamese comedian who has been accused of molesting a boy during a dance-video audition pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Santa Ana, California on Friday, US media reported.

Hong Quang Minh, the 38-year-old entertainer who goes by the stage name is Minh Beo, was arrested last month in Orange County and charged on felony charges of sexually abusing a minor. Following the arraignment on Friday, Minh will appear at a pre-trial on May 13, and stand his first-instance trial on June 10, with both proceedings taking place at a Westminster court.

Minh Beo’s older sister and brother flew to the United States, but were not allowed to either see the jailed sibling or attend his arraignment.

According to the Orange County Register, Superior Court Judge Craig Robison approved the US$1 million bail at the first hearing – despite protests from Minh’s attorney, Phu Do Nguyen who called the amount “unfair.”

Nguyen said his client has agreed to surrender his passport and wear an electronic ankle monitor to assure he will not leave the country.

Minh travels for work but has a home in Garden Grove, he said.

“I don’t think he would flee… He loves being in America,” Nguyen was quoted as saying after the hearing.

But the request was rejected, as prosecutors were concerned Minh Beo would flee once released on bail. The US does not have an extradition treaty with Vietnam.

Minh was arrested on March 24 and detained at Orange County Jail. He faces charges of oral copulation of a minor, attempting to commit a lewd act upon a child under the age of 14, and meeting with a minor with the intent to engage in a lewd conduct.

He could also face up to five years and eight months in prison if he is convicted.

Minh is well-known for his performances in a number of television programs and movies in the US and Vietnam, and he was reportedly planning to open a modelling school and continue with an ongoing humanitarian TV show called “Luc Lac Vang” once he returned to Vietnam.

– with other agencies