Initial probe finds missile was not fired on purpose: prosecutors
ROC Central News Agency
2016/07/05 18:19:36
Kaohsiung, July 5 (CNA) An initial investigation into the launch of an anti-ship missile that killed a Taiwanese fisherman last Friday has found no evidence that it was fired intentionally, Kaohsiung prosecutors said Tuesday.
So far, prosecutors have not uncovered anything suspicious about Kao Chia-chun (高嘉駿), the petty officer who fired the missile, or his supervisor Chen Ming-hsiu (陳銘修), according to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office.
Investigators have collected samples from the two men for drug testing, searched their homes, and combed through their mobile phones and social networks, prosecutors said.
Kao lived a simple life and mostly stayed at home when he returned to Taipei during holidays, prosecutors said.
They also said there was no truth to the rumors that Kao was addicted to mobile and online video games.
The initial findings of the investigation do not indicate that Kao had "radical thoughts" that would lead him to fire the missile on purpose, prosecutors said.
The locally developed Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile was launched by mistake from a Chinchiang-class corvette at Zuoying Military Harbor in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, at 8:12 a.m. Friday, during a simulated test of the missile system, the Navy said.
The defense ministry said Kao was performing the tests without any supervision at the time and he mistakenly launched the missile. He accidentally selected the wrong mode for the missile drill simulation, setting it on combat mode instead of training mode, the ministry said.
The missile hit the fishing boat "Hsiang Li Sheng," which was sailing some 40 nautical miles northwest of the harbor, killing the skipper Huang Wen-chung (黃文忠) and injuring the three other crewmen -- two migrant fishermen and the skipper's son.
(By Cheng Chi-feng and Christie Chen)
ENDITEM/pc
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