Kinmen prosecutors have decided not to indict two Coast Guard Administration (CGA) officers connected with the deaths of two Chinese nationals in a capsizing incident in February due to insufficient evidence.
The unnamed and unregistered Chinese boat, which had four people on board, was spotted by a CGA patrol vessel on Feb. 14 in Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Kinmen.
The Chinese boat fled after refusing a coast guard patrol vessel’s request to board it, resulting in a high-speed chase which ended when the vessel made a sudden turn, collided with the CGA patrol vessel and capsized, leading to the deaths of two Chinese crew members.
Photo: Wu Cheng-ting, Taipei Times
Following the incident, two of the four Taiwanese on the patrol vessel — the captain, surnamed Huang (黃), and the helmsman, surnamed Tsai (蔡) — were investigated for alleged negligent homicide.
The Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement on Friday that it had decided not to indict Huang and Tsai on any charge.
The other two personnel on the patrol boat were not under investigation, because prosecutors felt the two had no say in the movements of the vessel.
Defending its decision, the office said the pursuit occurred within Taiwanese waters, where the Chinese boat had no right to be without permission, and that the CGA officers acted in accordance with established rules.
The collision did not exceed legal risk limits, as a forensic analysis found that the damage on the port side of the Chinese boat was caused by friction and compression, and did not indicate deliberate damage, the office said.
The finding was also supported by the accounts of the surviving Chinese fishers, who in February after the incident occurred said their boat was an unlicensed “black boat.”
The survivors said they did not believe the boat capsized due to the collision, adding that the deceased Chinese helmsman, surnamed Yu (于), did not have a license before acquiring the boat in January and had operated it less than 10 times.
In addition, experts said in a report on the incident issued earlier this year that the boat had not passed a seaworthiness inspection or been registered, making it an unsafe vessel prone to water ingress and instability when tilted.
Although Kinmen prosecutors felt there was no evidence to support an indictment of Huang and Tsai for the collision, that decision did not mean that the coast guard’s performance was flawless.
On July 30, CGA Director-General Chang Chung-lung (張忠龍) apologized for the four coast guard personnel not carrying cameras during their mission.
Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) on Friday said the CGA, which is an OAC agency, would equip each of its staff members with a camera starting from Thursday next week.
The CGA has begun installing surveillance systems on the hulls of its boats, which is expected to be completed by the end of December, she added.
The lack of cameras made it difficult to get an accurate picture of what happened and what sparked the collision.
As for the deceased, the CGA has reached an agreement with their families and would implement it soon, CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-Chin (謝慶欽) said on July 30.
It has not disclosed the details “out of respect for the families involved and the consensus reached in the cross-strait agreement.”
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS