Want China Times, CNA 2015-05-14
 |
| The Sheng Feng No. 12. (Photo/CNA) |
The captain
and crew aboard a Taiwanese fishing ship detained in Batanes province of the
Philippines last week for alleged poaching in territorial waters were released
and allowed to return home Wednesday after paying a fine of US$50,000.
Lin
Tung-heng, a section chief of Taiwan's representative office in the
Philippines, and Hsu Chz-yeh, an official with Taiwan's Coast Guard
Administration, presented a check for US$50,000 to the Philippines' Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to pay the fine.
The sum had
been remitted to the Philippines by the family of captain Hung Tien-ting.
The
fisheries agency then filed a motion with the Basco district prosecutors'
office and court to drop the case, and the court agreed, leading to the
immediate release of the ship, its captain and crew.
Hung, who
will leave the Philippines Thursday along with his ship and crew, said after
the court ruling that he was still considering whether to return to Taiwan or
go on another fishing trip to make up for losses from the fine.
Expressing
the financial pressure he felt in paying the fine, Hung told CNA that he will
discuss the issue with his family before making a decision.
He also
voiced his gratitude for Taiwan's representatives in Manila for their
assistance over the past week.
The
Pingtung-registered Sheng Feng No. 12 was detained last Thursday while passing
through waters 6.5 nautical miles off the coast of Yami Island when inspectors
on a Philippines ship approached and boarded the fishing boat to see if it was
operating illegally.
The six
people aboard the ship — Captain Hung, chief engineer Huang An-sheng and four
Indonesian fishermen — were each released on 15,000 pesos (US$336) bail last
Friday after negotiations with Filipino officials.
They were
allowed to move freely in the Philippines before appearing in court Wednesday.
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