Release time: 2025/3/31 19:31 Update time: 2025/3/31 21:27
CHEN,HUAN-YU HSU,CHENG-CHUN /Local Report
Conclusion first
After being wanted for many years, the mastermind of the human smuggling group named Chen, who was involved in many illegal immigration cases and even caused the tragic drowning of three illegal immigrants, used the Diamond 206 and the Jessie in 2023 and 2024 to smuggle Vietnamese people to Taiwan. Coast patrol officers arrested him in April 2024 and transferred him to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor’s Office. The first-instance verdict was released a few days ago. The Kaohsiung District Court sentenced the mastermind surnamed Chen to 9 years and April in prison for violating the “Immigration Act” and other crimes, and the accomplices were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 5 years.
The coast patrol stopped the cargo ship for boarding and found 15 Vietnamese nationals hiding in the cabin. The Cameroonian freighter Jiexi, which was handling the smuggling, was stopped in the waters southwest of Taiwan in March last year. In April of the same year, maritime patrol officers captured the mastermind of the smuggler group surnamed Chen in Hsinchu. In the first-instance verdict a few days ago, Chen Sueyi was sentenced to 9 years and 4 months for violating the “Entry and Exit Immigration Law” and other crimes.
The coast patrol stopped the cargo ship for boarding and found 15 Vietnamese nationals hiding in the cabin. The Cameroonian freighter Jiexi, which was handling the smuggling, was stopped in the waters southwest of Taiwan in March last year. In April of the same year, maritime patrol officers captured the mastermind of the smuggler group surnamed Chen in Hsinchu. In the first-instance verdict a few days ago, Chen Sueyi was sentenced to 9 years and 4 months for violating the “Entry and Exit Immigration Law” and other crimes.
LI,YU-HSIN, the administrative judge of the Kaohsiung District Court, explained, “The first general cargo ship Diamond 206 once caused a stowaway to fall into coma; the space on the second cargo ship was even narrower, with a height of only about 70 centimeters. In that secret cabin, the stowaways could not even stand up.”
The simple cabin that may endanger the lives of stowaways has become a sentencing factor. In addition to Chen Su, other accomplices involved in the case were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 5 years. It is understood that Suspect Chen, who has been wanted for many years, has been involved in many smuggling cases, with more than 100 people smuggled into the country. In 2018, Suspect Chen was also responsible for the smuggling case in which three Vietnamese illegal immigrants drowned in Taitung in 2018. Crime prevention scholars believe that punishment for repeat offenders should be strengthened.
Wang Boqi, an Wang Po-Chi, associate professor of the Department of Criminal Justice at Ming Chuan University responded, “The punishment must be meted out. Is it possible that his captain’s qualifications may not be possible because he has such a major record? Some restrictions must be imposed, and the boat used for smuggling must be immediately seized. Of course, some restrictions in relevant laws and regulations still need to be revised when necessary.”
There are numerous cases of people smuggling or smuggling people into Taiwan from China and Southeast Asian countries. Scholars believe that in addition to imposing legal sanctions on captured smuggling groups, the government should take stock of whether the manpower involved in maritime patrol and other related investigations is sufficient, and a multi-pronged approach can effectively curb related smuggling activities.