QUARANTINE CHECKS: The crew might not be fined for storing the pork, because they were not attempting to smuggle it into Taiwan, the COA said
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 13, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
Coast guard personnel yesterday confiscated raw pork from a Chinese ship in the nation’s
Coast guard members inspect a polystyrene foam box holding 10kg of pork on a Chinese ship that crossed into Taiwan’s contiguous zone 23 nautical miles off Penghu County’s Cimei Township yesterday. Photo: CNA
contiguous zone near Penghu County, officials said.
The oil supply vessel was detected in waters about 20 nautical miles (37km) southwest of the county’s Cimei Township (七美) and increased speed after a coast guard patrol broadcast several warnings, the Coast Guard Administration said in a news release.
Coast guard personnel intercepted and boarded the ship, finding 10kg of raw pork packed in its onboard refrigerator, Fleet Branch official Chan Wen-chung (詹文中) said by telephone, adding that the ship’s crew claimed the pork was for their own consumption.
The pork was transferred to Council of Agriculture (COA) officials for disposal, and the coast guard took the six crew members to Magong City (馬公) for further questioning to determine whether they contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Chan added.
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