The Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing on Monday began hearing
China's largest people smuggling case involving 42 suspects, who
are accused of illegally organizing or transporting Chinese people
abroad.
Among the accused smugglers, 10 were charged with organizing the
criminal activities by public prosecutors from the Intermediate
People's Procurator ate of Nanjing, who read a 70-pagepublic
indictment at the court in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu
Province, east China.
Chen Wenshu, a native of Putian County, in east China's Fujian
Province, is regarded as the primary suspect who led eight others
in smuggling hundreds of local people out of the country
between1998-2000.
Except for Chen and Yang Yiyang, another ringleader who was also
accused with organizing and transporting the illegal immigrants,
the remaining 40 suspects were all working for ocean-going
companies or ship-owners, mostly as company directors, captains or
sailors.
In
November 2001, the Chinese authorities began to trace and arrest
these suspects, after the incident of "The Fuyuan", a Chinese ship
which was detained by the Japanese coast guards on Nov. 25, 2000 on
its voyage from Xiamen, Fujian, to Japan.
The Japanese coast guards caught 17 illegal immigrants from Fujian
and arrested eight sailors and five people who came to meet the
immigrants. Later all the eight crew members were sentenced to
jail.
The case is so complicated that the trial may take 10 days or more,
according to court sources.
(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2002)