THE nine Chinese poachers who were arrested off Hasa-Hasa Shoal (Half Moon Shoal) in disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea in May 2014 were deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on June 11.
BI spokesperson Elaine Tan identified them as Chen Yi Quan, Chen Ze Hao, Shi Xian Xiong, Shi Liang Duong, He Chun, Huang Ji Xuan, He Sheng Bao, He Yuan Cheng, and Lu Chuan Fang.
They were deported to China due to a summary deportation order dated May 13, 2014 for illegally entering the Philippines without inspection and admission and for poaching in Philippine waters.
Eleven Chinese fishermen were actually arrested by the Philippine Maritime Police, who also impounded their vessel, which was carrying 400 sea turtles.
Nine of the fishermen underwent trial for violation of the Philippine Fisheries Code (Republic Act 8550) while the other two were considered minors and were deported back to China.
“The Chinese fishermen were released by the Puerto Princesa Regional Trial Court after serving subsidiary imprisonment for failure to pay the imposed fines of $100,000 and P100,000 each,” Tan said.
The BI said the fishermen also had no pending liabilities in the country. (FP/Sunnex)