The crewman from a Taiwanese fishing vessel charged with killing his captain and first mate before hijacking the ship on the high seas off Hawaii made an initial appearance in a US court Friday.
Lei Shi of China was assigned a public defender and asked if he understood the charges against him by US Magistrate Leslie Kobayashi.
Shackled at the ankles, dressed in federal-issued blue garb and wearing bandages around both wrists, Shi was subdued as he listened to Kobayashi through an interpreter.
Defense attorney Shanlyn Park said her client understood the criminal complaint, which was interpreted to him earlier.
Shi, a cook, was charged on Thursday -- his 21st birthday -- with commandeering the Full Means No. 2 after fatally stabbing the captain and first mate during an argument on March 14, federal prosecutors said.
After controlling the ship for two days, the crew eventually overpowered Shi and tied him up. The quarrel was apparently over Shi's wishes to return to China.
The federal offense of "seizing control of a ship by means of murder" is punishable by the death penalty, assistant US Attorney Elliott Enoki said Friday.
Enoki said the decision to seek the death penalty would be made by US Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Prosecutors also noted that Shi was his correct surname, contrary to previous court documents filed by prosecutors that stated his surname as Lei.
The 30 crew members remaining on the ship are cooperating with the investigation and are not being detained. However, the vessel is considered a crime scene, Enoki said.
Shi is not expected to be sent to his native China because the US does not have an extradition treaty with that country, Enoki said.
He would not comment on any diplomatic issues with China or Taiwan.
The Taiwanese captain, Chen Chung-she, was thrown overboard and his body was not recovered. The first mate, Li Da Feng of China, was found inside the ship's freezer. He died about 12 hours after he was stabbed, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS