Six detained for allegedly helping wanted man flee

HUGE PAYOUT: A Chinese national allegedly contacted a Chinese crew member of the Man Jui Fu 6 and offered him money to arrange the getaway, prosecutors said

Six crew members of the fishing boat Man Jui Fu 6 (滿瑞富6號) who allegedly helped a wanted man flee Taiwan were detained and held incommunicado by the Taipei District Court late on Friday.

The people detained include the captain, surnamed Huang (黃), a Chinese crew member surnamed Chen (陳) and four Indonesian crew members.

The boat owner, surnamed Lee (李), was released on bail of NT$100,000 (US$3,051.76) on Thursday.

The entrance to the Taipei District Court is pictured in an undated photograph.

Photo: Wang Meng-lun, Taipei Times

The wanted man, Chang Chun-chieh (張俊傑), was a former aide to independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅), and is suspected of fleeing Taiwan by sea with assistance from the crew, prosecutors said.

Surveillance footage shows a man with a build similar to that of Chang boarding the fishing boat Chien Chun 168 (錢春168號) at Zhengbin Fishing Port in Keelung on the night of Oct. 28 then later jumped onto the Man Jui Fu 6, they said.

The Man Jui Fu 6 sailed to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, where a Chinese fishing boat allegedly picked up the man, prosecutors said.

The participants allegedly received payments of NT$10,000 to tens of thousands of New Taiwan dollars, they added.

On Wednesday, the task force seized the Man Jui Fu 6 and took Chen and four Indonesian crew members into custody.

Investigators searched the vessel with the consent of those involved.

Lee and Huang were also questioned.

Several defendants said they helped pick up a man, but their accounts contradicted each other, prosecutors said.

After questioning the suspects, prosecutors said they believed Chen.

A Chinese national had allegedly contacted Chen and offered him hundreds of thousands of New Taiwan dollars to help arrange the getaway, they said.

Huang and the four Indonesian crew members were strongly suspected of involvement and posed a risk of collusion, they added.

The Chien Chun 168 was seized by the Coast Guard Administration’s 1st (Keelung) Patrol Flotilla in waters around Pengjia Islet (彭佳嶼) on Wednesday while it was operating.

The vessel was handed over to the Keelung Reconnaissance Brigade.

A search of the vessel found neither contraband nor Chang, prosecutors said.

The task force on Wednesday took into custody the owner of Chien Chun 168, surnamed Chien (簡).

He denied involvement in the case and said the boat did not go out to sea on Oct. 28.

Chien was released, but was not allowed to change residence, as the case was ongoing, prosecutors said.

Chang was one of 24 people indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office in June for allegedly conspiring with Chin to embezzle public assistant fees, contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).

He has been on the run since he cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet in Daan Forest Park in Taipei on Sept. 6. Chang was out on NT$10 million bail at the time.

The Taipei District Court subsequently issued an arrest warrant for him.

The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office said Chang is also being investigated in a separate case over allegations that he accepted funds from China to set up an espionage network in Taiwan, in contravention of the National Security Act (國家安全法).