Taipei:Two Chinese nationals have been sentenced to prison terms by the Shilin District Court after they illegally entered Taiwan by crossing the Taiwan Strait in a rubber dinghy in July.
According to Focus Taiwan, the court in Taipei issued a nine-month prison sentence to Luan (欒), while Yu (于) was sentenced to six months, which can be commuted to a fine of NT$180,000 (US$5,468). Both rulings are subject to appeal.
The incident came to light in July when an angler discovered a rubber dinghy on a beach in New Taipei's Bali District, along with life jackets and toilet paper marked with simplified Chinese characters. This led to a report to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), which subsequently arrested the two individuals.
Prosecutors revealed that the men began their journey from Qingdao, Shandong Province, on July 19, purchasing an outboard motor in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. They set sail from Fuzhou, Fujian Province, on July 22 and reached near Taipei Port early on July 23. After traveling through northern and central Taiwan, CGA investigators captured them on July 30.
In September, the Shilin District Prosecutors Office charged the men under the Immigration Act and the Cross-strait Relations Act, initially seeking two-year prison sentences for each.
