Taiwan claims jurisdiction in case of fisherman's death
ROC Central News Agency
2013/05/10 19:38:15
Taipei, May 10 (CNA) The Taiwanese government has jurisdiction in the case of a fisherman who was shot dead by a Philippines official vessel and will demand that the Southeast Asian country bring the killer to justice, a Ministry of Justice (MOJ) official said Friday.
The MOJ has contacted the Philippine authorities through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), seeking a preliminary finding regarding the incident, said Chen Wen-chi, head of the ministry's Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs.
Hung Shih-cheng, 65, was fatally wounded when a vessel of the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources fired upon the fishing boat he was working on -- the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 -- on Thursday morning.
The incident took place 164 nautical miles southeast of Taiwan's southernmost tip, in waters in the overlapping exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and the Philippines.
The Pingtung District Prosecutors Office was asked to examine Hung's body and the fishing boat, which was being towed back to Taiwan by the Coast Guard Administration and was expected to arrive Saturday, Chen said.
The Philippines' envoy to Taiwan, Antonio Basilio, apologized publicly to Hung's family and said his country welcomes a joint investigation by Taiwanese and Philippine law enforcement authorities.
Taiwan can prosecute the Philippine killer if the individual is found to have unlawfully fired the shot that killed Hung, Chen went on, noting that the Taiwanese government can ask the Philippines to help collect evidence and bring the killer in under a bilateral legal assistance pact signed in late April.
The MOJ will also help Hung's family to seek compensation, Chen added.
Meanwhile, Minister without Portfolio Lin Jung-tzer visited Hung's family in Pingtung's outlying Siaoliouciou Island Friday, and gave the family NT$50,000 (US$1,682.39) to express the government's condolences.
Talking to Premier Jiang Yi-huah on the phone during Lin's visit, Hung's family asked the government to hold an international press conference to issue a strong protest to the Philippines, which Jiang promised to do.
According to Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Tsay Tzu-yaw, the Hung family will be able to collect NT$1 million from a group insurance policy for fishermen, NT$450,000 from a fund set up by the National Fishermen's Association for accidents at sea, and money from the labor insurance bureau.
(By Tsai Pei-chih, Kuo Chu-chen, Yang Su-min and Kay Liu)
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