Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/05/10
By: Emerson Lim and S.C. Chang

Basco, the Philippines, May 10 (CNA) A Taiwanese fishing boat detained by the Philippines last week was found to have the same engine as a former Philippines fishing boat which had been fined but fled without paying the money.

Philippine officials told CNA that investigators have found a registration booklet aboard Taiwan’s Sheng Feng No. 12 which shows it used to be the Teresia No. 16, a Philippines-registered boat that had been fined US$200,000 for poaching, a penalty that was never paid.

After fleeing, the Teresia No. 16 had its name changed. In that new name, the boat once again entered the Philippines waters illegally, according to the officials.

Another reason that the Philippines authorities were still keeping the Sheng Feng No. 12 under custody was that it had registered as fishing ground the Indian Ocean and so had no reason to pass through the Batanes territorial waters of the Philippines, according to the officials.     [FULL  STORY]