Shenzhen swimmer’s death: suspect boat was ‘registered in Hong Kong’
A boat suspected of involvement in the death of a swimmer off Shenzhen’s Dameisha beach on January 1 was registered in Hong Kong and sailing in the area illegally, Shenzhen's maritime authorities say.
The boat had not passed through border inspection when entering local waters, the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration said, though its operator had a valid driving licence.
The administration did not identify the driver, but said the boat’s licence plate was 138115.
Family members of the dead swimmer – Liang Zhentao, 46, a doctor with the Peking University Shenzhen Hospital – believe he was killed when the boat’s propeller hit him, and point to spiral-shaped open wounds found on his body.
The administration launched an investigation on January 3, but has yet to reach a conclusion on the cause of the death.
The driver of the boat claims to have pulled the doctor’s body into the boat after noticing something “unusual” floating on the surface while driving back to shore, reported the website thepaper.cn. The driver also called 120 to get get medical help.
Mainland media have offered conflicting reports on what caused the doctor’s death.
His friends said on social media that Liang was a good swimmer and claimed he was killed when the boat’s propeller hit him.
But the Southern Metropolitan Daily said Liang had been drinking alcohol with several friends before swimming. It quoted the boat’s driver, who is on bail pending trial, as saying that Liang was already dead when the boat hit him.
Liang’s wife demanded a postmortem, insisting the autopsy should be carried out by a third party.
The maritime authority said the postmortem, scheduled for January 13, had been suspended due to “reasons with the victim’s family”, reported thepaper.cn.
Hong Kong Marine Department said on Wednesday it could not provide details about the boat’s registration.
It confirmed that a Hong Kong-licensed pleasure vessel had hit a swimmer in Dameisha at about 3pm on New Year’s Day. The incident was outside Hong Kong waters, it said. However, it added that an application for port clearance was required for any vessel leaving the city. It had no records of an application for a port clearance from the vessel.
