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Fishermen beat coast guard officers

Two coast guard officers were attacked and injured by Chinese fishermen during a patrol operation on Sunday against Chinese poachers, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday.

The four Chinese fishermen who attacked the coast guards have been detained at the Kinmen District Courthouse, the CGA said.

"The coast guard arrested five Chinese men and 10 Chinese women. Prosecutors decided to charge the four who assaulted the officers, and the Kinmen District Court has ordered the four men to be detained," the CGA said in a press statement issued yesterday.

The CGA said the coast guard was informed on Sunday around 5pm that a number of Chinese fishermen were collecting conches and other shells at a beach on Kinmen's east coast.

A CGA boat was dispatched immediately to apprehend the fishermen. When they spotted the coast guard boat, the Chinese fishermen quickly returned to their two fishing boats and fled, the CGA said.

Since the water in the area is shallow, three officers then pursued the Chinese boats in a small boat dispatched from the cutter, the administration said.

When the three attempted to board one of the fishing boats, some of the fishermen took bamboo rods, sticks and crowbars and started attacking them, the CGA said.

The three officers used tear gas and stun guns against the fishermen, but officer Chen Chien-hwa (陳建華) had his right knee injured and another, Hsu Hsien-wen (許獻文), sustained a head injury.

A CGA cutter came to the rescue of the injured officers.

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