Ship captain's torture claim
A BURMESE ship captain has claimed machine gun-toting Chinese police beat him and gave him an injection to make him confess to smuggling.
Captain Kyaw Sein, of the container ship Vosa Carrier, also claimed that during his month-long ordeal, armed Public Security Bureau officers warned him and his crew that they could 'do whatever they wanted to in China'.
His vessel was boarded by police in Chinese waters just south of Waglan Island on October 11. It was sailing from Hong Kong to Haiphong, Vietnam, with a crew of 13 and a cargo of cigarettes and cars.
The captain, his crew and ship were finally released under escort without charge on November 12 and told 'never to return to the People's Republic of China'.
In a sworn statement, Captain Sein said police told him he could not talk to anyone and had to obey orders. He claimed officers stole the crew's food supply, damaged his cargo and refused him access to legal representation.
Yesterday, representatives of the Vosa Carrier's owners Ocean Bridge Shipping Pte Ltd began a hunger strike in Hong Kong after legal chiefs in Jieyang, Guangdong province, rejected a bid to sue the police.
Captain Sein said in his statement: 'When I refused to sign [the statement] they hit my backside and shoulders and I was knocked down, hitting my head on a chair.
'I began to feel dizzy and fell down. A doctor gave me an injection which made me feel more dizzy.' He said he could not remember what was written on the paper.
Before releasing the captain and crew, it is alleged Chinese police 'requested' they hand over their salaries.
Yesterday, protesters called on the SAR Government not to ignore the problem of piracy on the high seas.
The claims come less than a month after the crew of The Asian Friendship claimed they were hijacked and held by mainland security forces while en route to Haiphong.
Police in Shanwei released them without charge on November 30.
