Tuesday, April 13, 2010

MOFA probing alleged slavery in Costa Rica involving Taiwanese

Taipei, April 13 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday that it was trying to collect information on the involvement of Taiwanese nationals in an alleged case of the enslavement of 36 Asians on fishing boats and suspected human trafficking in Costa Rica.

The MOFA was responding to reports from media outlets stating that three men and one woman -- three of which are Taiwanese -- were arrested by the Costa Rican authorities at the port of Puntarenas and accused of using 36 Asians on two fishing boats as slave labor. All the suspects were released under their own recognizance.

The ministry instructed its embassies in Panama and Nicaragua to monitor the situation and collect information, as there are no diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Costa Rica, MOFA deputy spokesman James Chang said.

Costa Rica severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 2007 after maintaining official ties for almost 60 years.

"We would like to express our concern from a humanitarian standpoint for the people abused if the case proves to be true, " he said, adding that although the four had been released, the Costa Rican authorities were still investigating the case.

Costa Rican police Sunday freed the 36 Asians -- 15 Vietnamese, 13 Indonesians, five Filipinos, two Taiwanese and a Chinese national -- from "inhumane" conditions aboard two fishing boats, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and local paper La Nacion reported, adding that the men were allegedly beaten and forced to work for up to 20 hours a day without pay.

The case surfaced after nine Vietnamese men escaped by jumping overboard, swimming to shore and alerting the authorities four months ago.

Two employees surnamed Espinoza and Wang, and a brother and sister by the family name of Tseng who are the president and treasurer, respectively, of the Imperio Pesquero del Pacifico S.A. company, were finally arrested Saturday.

A local newspaper reported that the three Taiwanese and one Costa Rican were charged with human trafficking, which in Costa Rica carries a sentence of between eight and 16 years in prison. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J