Crew of rescued vessel ‘crime suspects in China’

Crew of rescued vessel ‘crime suspects in China’
Frances Mangosing - March 11, 2023 https://globalnation.inquirer.net/211859/crew-of-rescued-vessel-crime-su...

The Chinese Embassy in Manila has identified the seven Chinese crew members of a distressed fishing vessel in the waters off Eastern Samar as “suspects engaged in crime in China” and has asked the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for their transfer to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) the soonest for their immediate deportation.

“Please be informed that the Chinese nationals … who are staying in vessels Kai Da 899 in Tacloban Port anchorage area are engaged in crime in China and wanted by China’s police authority,” deputy police attaché Zheng Xue wrote in a letter to the PCG Eastern Visayas dated March 7 that was seen by the Inquirer.

The seven Chinese nationals were identified as Tang Rixin (alias Tong Yat Sun); Mai Bolin (alias Mak Pak Lam); Chen Zhewei; He Chengjun; Liu Jianping; Shi Junning and Lei Dengzai. Tang and Mai are from Hong Kong while the rest are from China.

Lack of necessary documents

The PCG rescued the MV Kai Da 899 last January 27 after receiving a report that the vessel was in distress in waters northeast of Suluan Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Further investigation later showed that it was a supply vessel and not a Chinese fishing vessel as initially reported.

The PCG had said it also found the Chinese crew “suspicious” for failing to provide necessary documents and their unusual navigational route.

The PCG said the vessel also lacked the Certificate of Voyage Registry, Certificate of Ownership, Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate, ship station license, shipboard oil pollution emergency plan, Certificate of Stability, Tonnage Measurement Certificate, magnetic compass, ship logbook and oil record book, among others.

The Chinese Embassy asked the PCG to implement the necessary legal procedures against them and transfer them to the BI “at their earliest convenience, so we can deport the suspects out of the Philippines.”