ID :
21756
Mon, 09/29/2008 - 10:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/21756
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) Chinese fishermen face arrest over Korean officer's death
(ATTN: UPDATES lead, throughout with other officers injured, details of assault)
MOKPO, South Korea, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The Coast Guard planned to seek arrest warrants for 11 Chinese fishermen on Sunday following the death of a Korean officer who was assaulted and then drowned while trying to inspect the boat operating in Korean waters.
Park Kyong-jo, 48, a police inspector of the Mokpo Coast Guard, fell into the
water while attempting to board the Chinese boat whose crew was illegally fishing
in Korea's exclusive economic zone on Thursday evening. Three of the 11 crewmen
appeared to be wielding a shovel and batons against Park as he tried to climb
across the Chinese boat's rail, according to video footage taken and released by
the Coast Guard.
Six other Korean officers were injured in the clash, the Coast Guard said. The
Chinese fishermen ran away but were captured after a 15-hour-long chase.
"Arrest warrants will be sought for all 11 crew members of the Chinese boat, some
on assault charges and some on homicide charges and obstructing official
business, as well as violating the exclusive economic waters," Kim Hyo-nam, a
police officer at the Mokpo Coast Guard, said.
Park and 16 other naval police officers set out on two 1.5-ton high-speed ships
after two unregistered fishing boats were found operating 73 km west of Gageo
Island, Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, on Korea's southwestern shores at
around 7 p.m. Thursday.
Approaching the boats, the officers tried to board for inspection. But the
Chinese fishermen prevented their access by wielding shovels and iron pipes and
throwing stones and iron balls. Park went missing amid the violence, while six
other officers aboard Park's boat sustained injuries. The Chinese boats fled the
scene.
The Coast Guard officers seized one of the Chinese boats, which had run about 100
km from the site where they were first spotted and was at one point aided by
about 30 other Chinese vessels trying to prevent its capture. The captain of the
seized 17-ton wooden boat was identified as He Xinquan, 36, from China's eastern
Liaoning Province.
The Chinese were initially uncooperative and denied using violence, but some of
them later recanted, officers said. The video footage needed image improvement to
identify the suspects who wielded the shovel, as it was taken from a distance by
the Coast Guard's main patrol vessel.
The police said Park was struck on the head two or three times. About 17 hours
after going missing, he was found with the cord used to connect his belt to his
police baton coiled around his neck, but further examination is needed to
determine whether the Chinese strangled him or if it was caused by drifting.
Officers say more and more Chinese fishing boats are infiltrating Korean waters
as harvests in Chinese waters are plummeting due to pollution and over-fishing.
Since South Korea's fisheries treaty with China took effect in 2001, about 3,000
Chinese boats have been captured illegally fishing in Korean waters.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
MOKPO, South Korea, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The Coast Guard planned to seek arrest warrants for 11 Chinese fishermen on Sunday following the death of a Korean officer who was assaulted and then drowned while trying to inspect the boat operating in Korean waters.
Park Kyong-jo, 48, a police inspector of the Mokpo Coast Guard, fell into the
water while attempting to board the Chinese boat whose crew was illegally fishing
in Korea's exclusive economic zone on Thursday evening. Three of the 11 crewmen
appeared to be wielding a shovel and batons against Park as he tried to climb
across the Chinese boat's rail, according to video footage taken and released by
the Coast Guard.
Six other Korean officers were injured in the clash, the Coast Guard said. The
Chinese fishermen ran away but were captured after a 15-hour-long chase.
"Arrest warrants will be sought for all 11 crew members of the Chinese boat, some
on assault charges and some on homicide charges and obstructing official
business, as well as violating the exclusive economic waters," Kim Hyo-nam, a
police officer at the Mokpo Coast Guard, said.
Park and 16 other naval police officers set out on two 1.5-ton high-speed ships
after two unregistered fishing boats were found operating 73 km west of Gageo
Island, Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, on Korea's southwestern shores at
around 7 p.m. Thursday.
Approaching the boats, the officers tried to board for inspection. But the
Chinese fishermen prevented their access by wielding shovels and iron pipes and
throwing stones and iron balls. Park went missing amid the violence, while six
other officers aboard Park's boat sustained injuries. The Chinese boats fled the
scene.
The Coast Guard officers seized one of the Chinese boats, which had run about 100
km from the site where they were first spotted and was at one point aided by
about 30 other Chinese vessels trying to prevent its capture. The captain of the
seized 17-ton wooden boat was identified as He Xinquan, 36, from China's eastern
Liaoning Province.
The Chinese were initially uncooperative and denied using violence, but some of
them later recanted, officers said. The video footage needed image improvement to
identify the suspects who wielded the shovel, as it was taken from a distance by
the Coast Guard's main patrol vessel.
The police said Park was struck on the head two or three times. About 17 hours
after going missing, he was found with the cord used to connect his belt to his
police baton coiled around his neck, but further examination is needed to
determine whether the Chinese strangled him or if it was caused by drifting.
Officers say more and more Chinese fishing boats are infiltrating Korean waters
as harvests in Chinese waters are plummeting due to pollution and over-fishing.
Since South Korea's fisheries treaty with China took effect in 2001, about 3,000
Chinese boats have been captured illegally fishing in Korean waters.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
