The captain and two crew members of a Taiwanese fishing boat have been indicted on charges relating to the death of an Indonesian fisher on Aug. 25, 2015, the Taiwan International Workers’ Association (TIWA) said.
TIWA said on Wednesday that the attorney representing the Indonesian fisher’s family had been notified earlier in the day that local prosecutors had charged the captain Chen Kai-chih (陳凱治) with criminal negligence resulting in death.
The indictments, filed on Aug. 23 this year, also included charges against the ship’s chief engineer Chen Chin-piao (陳金錶) and Indonesian fisher Agus Setiawan, who were accused of physically abusing the victim, leading to his death, according to the TIWA.
The victim, a 43-year-old named Supriyanto, died aboard the Kaohsiung-registered Fu Tzu Chun.
At the time, the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office ruled that Supriyanto had died of injuries and a resulting infection after falling on the boat. It closed the investigation in November 2015.
After several petitions were filed by fisher rights groups in Taiwan, the office in October 2016 reopened the investigation.
Indictments filed by prosecutor Lu Hui-chen (盧惠珍) last month said that Chen Kai-chih had failed to “promptly notify the relevant agencies and make arrangements for emergency medical services and the treatment” of an injured foreign crew member, as mandated in the Fisheries Act (漁業法).
The charges brought against Setiawan and Chen Chin-piao are related to suspected beatings and other types of physical abuse, TIWA said.
Prosecutors have issued a wanted notice for Indonesian fisher Munawir Sazali, who they suspect was involved in Supriyanto’s death and has since left Taiwan.
TIWA criticized the law enforcement system, saying that the court dates were changed erratically, with no reason given, which has been torturous for Supriyanto’s family.
The Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office investigation was perfunctory, as four video recordings retrieved from the fishing boat were not properly translated, which led to the case being closed in November 2015, TIWA said.
Furthermore, the case exposed the lack of protections foreign fishers have in Taiwan, drawing the attention of international human rights and fisheries organizations, it said.
Last month’s indictments represented “delayed justice,” TIWA said, adding that Supriyanto’s family, their attorney and support groups had almost given up.
In 2016, local media reports cited the Control Yuan as saying that at least three video recordings of Supriyanto talking about his experiences on the boat had not been properly translated, as the district prosecutors’ office used an Indonesian translator, while the recordings were in central Javanese.
After the investigation reopened in 2016, Supriyanto’s family, with the help of TIWA, retained attorney Tseng Wei-kai (曾威凱) in February 2017, and he filed a criminal complaint, the association said.
In May 2018, a fisher named Sukhirin, who was also working on the boat, returned to Taiwan as a key witness, it added.
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