9 Chinese poachers to be deported

MANILA, Philippines - The nine Chinese fishermen convicted of poaching in Palawan would be deported upon payment of the fine ordered by the court, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Siegfred Mison yesterday said.

Mison said they have issued the summary deportation of the fishermen after it was confirmed that they illegally entered the country.

Once the court turns over custody of the fishermen to the BI, their names would be included in the blacklist.

Mison said they were just waiting for Puerto Princesa City Regional Trial Court Branch 51 Judge Ambrosio de Luna to sentence boat captain Chen Yi Quan, chief engineer Chen Ze Hao and crew Shi Xian Xiong, Shi Liang Duong, He Chuan, Huang Ji Xuan, He Sheng Bao, He Yuan Cheng and Lu Chuan Fang.

A Palawan court ordered the fishermen to pay a fine of $100,000 (P4.3 million) each for poaching in Philippine waters and P120,000 each for taking hundreds of endangered giant sea turtles from Hasa-Hasa Shoal.

The court said the fishermen face imprisonment for six months if they fail to pay the fine.

Mison said the fishermen would still be deported even if they were acquitted of poaching, because they are illegal entrants.

Meanwhile, China said the fines on nine Chinese fishermen had violated its sovereignty.

At a daily news briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged the Philippines to release the fishermen and their boat.

“We believe the Philippine government illegally seized the Chinese fishing boat and fishermen in waters near the Nansha islands and made a so-called judicial judgment that violated China’s sovereignty and rights of administration,” Hua said.

China refers to the Spratly islands as Nansha.– Evelyn Macairan, Reuters