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Taiwan prosecutor: PHL ship fired 'heavy' weapons at boat; 52 bullet holes found


Philippine authorities who fatally shot a Taiwanese fisherman during an encounter at disputed waters last Thursday may have used "heavy weapons," a Taiwanese prosecutor said Saturday. A report on Taiwan's Central News Agency quoted Pingtung district prosecutor Liu Chia-kai as saying this was based on 52 bullet holes found on the Taiwanese ship. The report said the vessel "Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28" was examined after it arrived from the scene of the incident though Liu said it was not immediately clear if the "heavy weapons" used were 50-caliber machine guns. Fisherman Hung Shih-cheng, 65, was killed when the Philippine vessel opened fire on the Taiwanese vessel. The Coast Guard said initial reports showed the vessel was about to ram it. Prosecutors said Hung was killed by a bullet that penetrated the right side of his neck. Liu has asked that the body be taken to Kaohsiung for forensic examination. At least 10 bullet holes were found on the port side, where the bullets penetrated the thicker parts of the boat. The boat is now docked at Ta Fu fishing port on Siaoliouciou Island off Pingtung. For now, Liu said ballistics tests will be carried out on the bullet shells found on the boat, even as the 52 bullet holes have been photographed as evidence. The CNA report quoted a forensics technician who described the boat as "a scene of devastation." Ramming attempt denied CNA quoted Hung Yu-chih, skipper of the Kuang Ta Hsing and son of the slain fisherman, as denying trying to ram the Philippine government vessel. He said he could not have rammed the much bigger Philippine vessel, and that the crew had not taken any aggressive action. When the shooting began, he said the unarmed boat even tried to flee. "The bullets came like rain," he said, adding the crew was forced to seek shelter in the cabin, but it was in the cabin where his father was shot, he added. — LBG, GMA News

Tags: taiwan
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