The New Taipei District Court ruled late on Saturday night that a Chinese man who attempted to enter Taiwan on a rubber dinghy be detained and held incommunicado for illegal entry into the country.
The court ruled that the man was suspected of contravening the Immigration Act (入出境及移民法), and that he posed a flight risk and might collude with accomplices.
The New Taipei City Fire Department reported the 30-year-old man, surnamed Wang (王), at 6:30am on Saturday, after he was seen near the Houkeng River (後坑溪) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said.
Photo copied by Wu Jen-chieh, Taipei Times
CGA personnel were dispatched to the scene and found Wang in a rubber dinghy about 100m from the shore, the CGA said, adding that they assisted the man to shore and sent him to the hospital, as he was severely dehydrated.
The rubber dinghy was not rowed to Taiwan’s shores, but driven with an outboard motor, the CGA said.
When questioned, Wang was quoted as saying that he was in debt in China and hoped to start a new life in Taiwan.
The CGA said that Wang’s statement matched the identification documents he brought with him and he was transferred to prosecutors for investigation at 8:45pm.
The prosecutors’ office said they suspected Wang had illegally entered Taiwan, and requested the court detain him incommunicado as he posed a flight risk and might collude with accomplices.
Meanwhile, the CGA said the rubber dinghy was relatively small and moved at a slow speed, which made it undetectable by radar.
Radar playback did not reveal anything out of the ordinary either, it said, adding that small targets cannot be detected without infrared thermal imaging equipment.
The CGA said it is working on establishing infrared thermal imaging equipment and other surveillance technologies, enhancing drone capabilities and constructing new types of vessels to improve its detection and monitoring capabilities.
No human error by CGA personnel was involved in the incident, but Taiwan needs to improve its maritime border control, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
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