A fishing boat in Yilan County, Taiwan, is suspected of smuggling 24 Vietnamese people into Taiwan for illegal work. The human smuggling syndicate first charged each person NT$250,000 (about RM34,500), then further extorted an additional NT$150,000 per person on the high seas, even threatening to throw them overboard if they did not pay. Fortunately, the Coast Guard intervened in time to prevent a humanitarian crisis.
According to a report by United Daily News on the 26th, the fishing boat in question is "Jin Cai Man No. 8." Yilan prosecutors stated that the smuggling ring repeatedly exploited the stowaways and disregarded their lives by threatening to throw the vulnerable overboard. Their conduct was egregious, and prosecutors have requested the court sentence the Li brothers to 7 and 5 years in prison, respectively, and the captain surnamed Luo and a Vietnamese man surnamed Yuan to each receive 4 years in prison. The 24 stowaways are being prosecuted for violating the Immigration Act and have been referred for a summary judgment.
According to reports, the smuggling syndicate was led by the Li brothers, together with Captain Luo and two Vietnamese men surnamed Yuan. Earlier this April, Mr. Yuan recruited 24 Vietnamese people (4 women and 20 men between the ages 25 to 35) who could not legally enter Taiwan but wanted to work there. After collecting NT$250,000 from each, he collaborated with the Li brothers and Mr. Luo to arrange for the fishing vessel to go to Vietnam. On the high seas, they used small fishing boats to transfer passengers in batches in an attempt to evade authorities.
During the process, the Li brothers and Captain Luo took advantage of the 24 stowaways’ vulnerability at sea, demanding an extra NT$150,000 from each in order to come ashore, threatening to refuse transport and throw them overboard if they didn’t pay. As a result, the 24 were forced to agree to pay a total of NT$9.6 million (about RM130,000), with the illicit profits then split between the Li brothers and Mr. Luo.
Law enforcement intercepted the vessel on April 25 around 5 p.m., about 21 nautical miles southeast of Qimei Island, Penghu. The case was concluded on August 22; prosecutors have charged the suspects under the Immigration Act, Human Trafficking Prevention Act, and Organized Crime Prevention Act, and have requested the confiscation of the NT$9.6 million in illegal gains as well as seizure of the fishing boat and related items.