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PCG
liable for Taiwanese death: report
MURDER? A Philippine newspaper reported that it
had learned from a source that the investigation bureau recommended filing
criminal charges against coast guard personnel
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
The Philippine Daily Inquirer,
the third-largest newspaper in the Philippines, yesterday quotes a source as
saying that the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation is suggesting that
the government file criminal charges against the coast guard personnel that
killed a Taiwanese fisherman last month.
Photo: CNA
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III
has received a copy of a report by the Philippine National Bureau of
Investigation on the fatal shooting of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (¬x¥Û¦¨)
by Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel, Philippine Department of Justice
Secretary Leila de Lima reportedly said yesterday.
Philippine newspaper the Sun Star yesterday quoted De Lima as saying that the
report would not be released until Aquino gave his approval.
De Lima declined to disclose the contents of the report, which, according to
Philippine media reports, recommends charging the coast guard personnel involved
in the incident.
Taiwanese and Philippine investigators last week compared notes in their
separate, but cooperative investigations into the incident that occurred on May
9 about 164 nautical miles (304km) off Taiwan¡¦s southernmost tip.
Their reports have not yet been released.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported yesterday that it had learned from a
source that the bureau has recommended filing criminal charges against the coast
guard personnel.
However, there was a debate within the bureau over whether to bring murder
charges against the personnel because although ¡§superior strength¡¨ was used
¡§against an unarmed civilian,¡¨ the death of Hung was not premeditated, the
source was quoted as saying by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The report includes the identities of the PCG personnel who fired at the Kuang
Ta Hsing No. 28 and the identity of the officer who fired the bullet that killed
Hung, the daily reported.
The daily said that the bureau¡¦s report disproved an earlier claim by the PCG
that the Taiwanese fishing boat tried to ram the Philippine patrol vessel, but
the bureau insisted that the shooting happened in Philippine waters.
The PCG has said its personnel fired on the fishing boat because it was moving
toward them aggressively and that they had aimed for the engine to incapacitate
the boat. However, the bureau¡¦s report said that the results of ballistic tests
and trajectory examination of the fishing boat showed that the shooters did not
know where the engine was, the source said.
In response to the disclosure of the report, Philippine Senator Gringo Honasan
reportedly said yesterday that Aquino should be very careful in dealing with the
alleged recommendations.
According to an ABS-CBN news report, Honasan told reporters that filing charges
against the personnel who killed Hung could demoralize the PCG.
Honasan reportedly urged the Aquino administration to clarify its policy toward
China and Taiwan, particularly on the issue of territorial rights, as he said
that the Taiwanese fishing boat was poaching in Philippine territory.
Taiwan¡¦s Fisheries Agency has flatly rejected Manila¡¦s claim that the Kuang Ta
Hsing No. 28 was intruding into the territorial waters of the Philippines.
The agency says information recorded by the fishing boat¡¦s voyage data recorder
system proves that it was operating within Taiwan¡¦s exclusive economic zone,
which overlaps that of the Philippines.
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