TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors indicted the Chinese captain of a freighter for allegedly damaging a submarine communications cable between Taiwan proper and Penghu.
On Friday, the Tainan District Prosecutors Office said that when the Coast Guard intercepted the Togo-flagged Hong Tai, the captain surnamed Wang (王), and seven Chinese crew members were onboard, per CNA. The ship's electronic navigation charts marked the locations of the undersea cables around Taiwan.
One of them, the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 undersea cable, is 5 nautical miles (9 km) off Tainan's Beimen District. It connects Taiwan’s main island to Penghu and carries telephone and broadband internet communications. The area is a government-designated no-anchor zone.
From 10 p.m., Feb. 22 to around 3 a.m., Feb. 25, Wang allegedly ordered the crew to release the anchor and drag it along the seafloor 5 nautical miles west of Beimen District. He then maneuvered the ship in a zigzag pattern above the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 cable, allegedly using the anchor to snag and sever it.
The Coast Guard received a report the Hong Tai was loitering in a restricted area. At 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 25, the ship was ordered to leave.
At 3:24 a.m., Chunghwa Telecom reported the cable had been cut and was not transmitting signals. The authorities intercepted the ship and took it to Tainan's Port of Anping for investigation, detaining all eight crew members.
When questioned by prosecutors, Wang denied any wrongdoing. After questioning, prosecutors requested his detention, which was approved by Tainan District Court.
The other seven crew members were subjected to restrictions on residence and travel, both by land and sea. They are being monitored with electronic devices.
Tainan prosecutors concluded the investigation Friday and indicted Wang for breaking the Telecommunications Management Act, referring the case to Tainan District Court. The other seven crew members were not indicted due to insufficient evidence and are being held by the Coast Guard awaiting deportation.
Prosecutors said Wang has no fixed residence in Taiwan and previously admitted to using fake documents to enter Keelung Port. Wang refuses to disclose the ship owner and who ordered him to damage the cable.
As he is considered a flight risk and has shown a poor attitude since the incident, prosecutors have requested continued detention and that he be handed an appropriate sentence. If found guilty, Wang faces a prison sentence of one to seven years and a fine of up to NT$10 million (US$307,000) for breaching Article 72 of the Telecommunications Management Act and endangering the normal functioning of submarine cable.
