A Chinese captain and crew of a cargo ship pled guilty to attempted murder after they jettisoned two Tanzanian stowaways they suspected might have the coronavirus into a river where man-eating sharks prey on humans.
The cargo ship had arrived at Durban harbor from Singapore; while it was at rest the stowaways, Amiri Salamu, 20 and Hassani Rajabu, 30, climbed the anchor chain to board the ship, according to The Daily Mail. On March 26 the ship sailed; the next day out on the ocean the stowaways were found on the main deck. They reportedly would not say where they had come from, prompting the crew to worry they carried the coronavirus and thus isolating the two men while they pondered what to do.
National Police Authority spokesperson Natasha Cara stated, “The accused were wary of the men and asked them to wear face masks in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The men refused to wear the face masks so were put in a separate room as their Covid-19 status was unknown and there was a fear by the crew about the virus.” She added, “The accused … provided the men with life jackets and the crew acted in a threatening manner banging the vessel’s decks as they descended into the raft. The ship pulled away leaving them once they were aboard the raft. The accused admitted that their actions could have resulted in serious injury and even the loss of life.”
The Chinese captain of the MV Top Grace, Cui Rongli, and the crew built a raft of plywood, plastic drums and rope, then reportedly gave each of the men two bottles of water and a life jacket but no food before they were told to use their hands as paddles as they were ejected from the ship.
The New York Post reported, “The two men were given no food on the flimsy raft, which was dumped near the mouth of the Tugela River where great whites, hammerheads, tiger and bull sharks are known to hunt, but mercifully washed up on the Zinkwazi Beach near Durban three days later. The pair were found by horrified locals and were sent to the hospital after suffering from hypothermia, thirst and hunger.”
When the MV Top Grace docked at Richards Bay, the African Maritime Safety Agency impounded the ship and Rongli was arrested. He and five other crew members pled guilty on April 18 to attempted murder. The Daily Mail noted, “Prosecutor Vishalan Moodley said the seven men pleaded guilty in terms of ‘dolus eventualis’ in that they knew there was a possibility the stowaways might die or perish at sea.”
Defense lawyer Willie Lombard insisted, “There were many mitigating factors and if the crew had wanted to be cruel they could have dropped them in the high seas much further out without life jackets.”
Rongli was fined roughly $5,400 and each crew member roughly $2,700 in a plea bargain agreement; Rongli was fined $2,700 more for misconduct and roughly $540 for not reporting the stowaways.
Dispatch Live reported that Kara stated of the captain and crew, “They were handed over to immigration officials after paying their fines.”