The high court today upheld an eight-month prison sentence for a Chinese man who illegally entered Taiwan on an inflatable boat in May.
The case may be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Song Yuankun (宋元坤), 41, and his 17-year-old son from China’s Yunnan Province entered Taiwan illegally on May 15 near the Guantang liquid natural gas terminal in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音), prosecutors said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The two departed from Pingtan County in China’s Fujian Province on an inflatable rubber dinghy purchased online, and traveled 68 nautical miles (126km) using 29.5 liters of fuel, the indictment said.
After they landed at 5:30pm, they went to an ATM to withdraw cash, which they used to buy dinner, it said.
However, they soon ran out of money and turned themselves in at Taoyuan's Dayuan Police Precinct at about 8am the following day, it added.
Police notified the Coast Guard Administration's northern branch and the case was transferred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office for investigation.
Following a lie detector test, no evidence was found that the two had attempted to gather military intelligence or make any political statement about Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Song was indicted for contravening the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) by entering Taiwan without authorization.
The Taoyuan District Court in August sentenced Song to eight months in prison, citing his cooperative attitude during the investigation.
His son was transferred to the juvenile division of the Taoyuan District Court, which decided not to proceed with the trial as he had turned himself in to police.
He was being held in the Taipei Detention Center, pending deportation.
Song worked as a laborer in Yunnan Province, while his son was a hairdresser, the indictment said.
Song told authorities that he wanted a better life in Taiwan and for his son to continue his education here, it added.
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