The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a guilty verdict against three firefighters and a fisherman in Penghu County who were convicted of poaching three turtles that were listed as protected species.
The four had previously been found guilty of killing green sea turtles in breach of the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法).
Fisherman Hu Chen-che (胡振哲) had appealed the ruling, which eventually wound up at the Supreme Court.
In yesterday’s decision, the court handed down suspended sentences of 14 months against the three firefighters and put them on probation.
The court also upheld the previous ruling sentencing Hu to one year in prison, because he had a prior conviction for catching fish illegally by using electric shock equipment.
Hu was found to have poached the turtles with a spear gun.
The case originated in May last year, when the three firefighters, deputy captain Wang Ming-hsien (王明賢), Cheng Jung-chun (程榮俊) and Chen Fu-jung (陳福榮), who were stationed on the county’s Jibei Islet (吉貝嶼), wanted to eat green sea turtle.
They contacted Hu and asked him to catch green sea turtles for them, and agreed to pay NT$3,000 per live turtle.
Hu then caught three turtles, butchered two of them and sent them in a box via a local transport boat to the fire station.
The incident was discovered when a local resident saw the firefighters cooking the turtle meat in the fire station’s backyard, took photographs showing turtle shells on the ground and posted them online with the message: “Does turtle meat taste good?”
Hu released the third turtle after the incident came to light.
The incident caused a public outcry due to the animals’ conservation status.
In the first ruling, Wang and Chen pleaded guilty and were given suspended sentences of 14 months, fined NT$240,000 each, and ordered to provide 120 hours of community service.
Hu was sentenced to one year in prison and Cheng to 16 months. The two appealed the ruling, seeking more lenient terms.
A local court said the firefighters are government employees and therefore knew that the turtles were important in the promotion of tourism in Penghu and that they were protected.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS