Testimony sought
from Chinese crew

14 crewmen are held as material
witnesses to 2 stabbings at sea

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By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com

Fourteen of 30 Chinese crewmen on a Taiwanese fishing vessel, whose captain and first mate were fatally stabbed on the high seas, were held yesterday as material witnesses.

In federal court, assistant federal public defender Pamela Byrne, who represents 21-year-old suspect Shi Lei, said she wants to question these witnesses along with the 16 others who were brought in Friday as material witnesses in the case and detained at the federal detention center.

The government alleges 21-year-old Shi, who is from China, fatally stabbed captain Chen Chung-She and first mate Li Da Feng on the Taiwanese fishing vessel, the Full Means No. 2, and then seized the boat.

The crew had overpowered Shi and was headed to Hawaii when the U.S. Coast Guard brought the ship in.

Federal marshals removed the remaining crew members from the ship yesterday morning and brought them directly to the federal courthouse.

Byrne said she prepared the men by telling them what to expect.

They were shackled but not handcuffed in the courtroom as their shipmates were on Friday.

They also wore their own clothes instead of the federal blue prison uniforms the others wore.

When a lawyer explained to one of the men he would receive $40 a day or $1,200 a month, a big smile spread across his face.

The men earn between $130 and $170 a month, the lawyers said.

U.S. Magistrate Kevin Chang explained to the men they were not being charged with a crime.

He told Byrne to determine how much the witnesses know, and those who know the least can be deposed first to speed up the process.

The crewmen were to be taken to the federal detention center, but lawyers asked about alternate accommodations.

Witness attorney David Klein told the judge the crewmen may have a legal basis for staying in the United States.

He requested the witnesses' attorneys be informed prior to their clients being shipped out.

Chang said he would be willing to hear such arguments.

After the hearing, Klein said a lot of attention has been paid lately to "so-called slave ships." He said the crewmen were "sold into a labor situation," a three-year contract where no one was paid until the end.

Byrne must defend Shi without the benefit of live witnesses.

To avoid having to detain the witnesses until trial, the depositions will be videotaped for use at trial.

Both the prosecution and defense attorneys will be present during the depositions, with opportunity for cross-examination.

Byrne predicted the depositions will take two to three weeks.

"I've never done a murder case without having live witnesses," she said.

But with a capital murder case, "the stakes are potentially much higher."

Atlanta Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Pearce, formerly with the San Diego U.S. attorney's office, said, "In San Diego we tried cases all the time without a live witness."

He acknowledges the two-dimensional testimony loses something, but the jury still gets to watch it and judge the person's demeanor.

Detention hearings for the 16 who appeared in court Friday will be held today; a hearing for the other 14 will be held Thursday.