Sailor from China held without bail
By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer
A sailor from China accused of murdering the captain and first mate of a Taiwanese fishing vessel and taking control of the ship made his first appearance in federal court yesterday in Honolulu.
Lei Shi ,21, stood with his palms pressed flat against a wooden table and wore a blue federal detainee outfit throughout the 10-minute hearing. Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi appointed the federal public defender's office to represent him.
Lei Shi is accused of stabbing the Captain and first mate in a mutiny at sea.
Shi nodded several times as a translator explained the proceedings. Federal deputy public defender Shanlyn Park told Kobayashi that Shi understands the charges against him. Shi is being held without bail.
He is accused of stabbing captain Chen Chung-She and first mate Li Da Feng aboard the 195-foot fishing vessel Full Means No. 2 on March 14 in international waters southeast of Hawai'i.
Shi was a cook aboard the ship and demanded just before the stabbing that the ship head back to China, investigators have said.
Authorities say that Shi ordered the captain's body thrown overboard and that the first mate's body was found in one of the ship's freezers. The crew regained control of the ship after about two days. The ship was escorted to waters off O'ahu and remains here with about 30 crew members aboard.
"In my 31 years in the Coast Guard, this is the first time I have had contact with anything like this," said Rear Adm. Ralph Utley, commander of the 14th Coast Guard District in Honolulu. "I've never had that happen before. Usually there's a brotherhood on the sea, and people take care of one another, and to have a tragedy like this happen is significant."
