Taiwanese fisherman's daughter to file murder raps vs father's killers

Hung Tzu Chien, daughter of the Taiwanese fisherman killed in the shooting incident in Philippine waters on May 9, will file murder charges against those responsible for the death of her father, a lawyer from Taiwan's Pingtung district attorney's office said.

“She file murder against who shot her father,” Atty. Chih Ming Hsieh said in halting English in a report from GMA News' John Consulta on the program News to Go on Wednesday.

The lawyer said Chien is still trying to determine if she should file charges against the person who shot her father, the one who ordered the shooting, or all the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel on the Philippine ship during the incident.

On Tuesday, the eight-man National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) team sent to Taiwan to gather more information met with Chien and the other fishermen involved in the May 9 incident, which has triggered a row between the Philippines and Taiwan.

The information gathering took almost ten hours because the narration from the fishermen and questions from the NBI needed translation.

“After all this investigation, I believe both sides will sit down to talk about what we found and try to reach a calm conclusion,” Hsieh said.

Chien, the slain fisher's daughter, asked investigators to be fair and impartial in conducting the investigation. She also became emotional while thanking the Philippine media, including Consulta who is in Taiwan to cover the NBI probe, for seeking the truth about what happened.

Second screening

Meanwhile, the seven-man Taiwanese investigation team that is currently in Manila for a parallel probe will again watch the two-hour video footage taken by PCG personnel during the incident on Wednesday.

The "News To Go" report said Taiwanese investigators will be accompanied by the PCG and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) personnel who were aboard the MCS 3001 during the shooting incident.

According to NBI Director Virgilio Mendez, the Taiwanese team will be allowed to question the PCG and BFAR personnel while viewing the video.

He said the Philippine government will also decide on Wednesday if it will provide a copy of the video, described earlier as “revealing” by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, to the Taiwanese team.

The team first watched the video on Tuesday with the NBI and officials from the Manila Economic and Cultural Office as well as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO).

Although it was a closed-door screening and the media was not allowed to view the footage, the head of TECO was optimistic that the video would clarify what really happened last May 9.

“We thought that this video will be helpful for both sides of the investigation,” said TECO's economic head Atty. Andrew Lin. — Andrei Medina /LBG/RSJ, GMA News