MANILA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Philippine regional court on Wednesday convicted eight Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) members for the 2013 killing of a fisherman from China's Taiwan Province.
The Manila Regional Trial Court found the PCG members guilty of homicide over the fatal shooting of fisherman Hung Shih-Cheng from Taiwan in May 2013.
The eight PCG members were sentenced to serve from eight years and one day up to 14 years eight months and one day in prison.
"Judgment is hereby rendered finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of homicide defined in and penalized under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code," said the verdict promulgated by the Court Judge Eduardo Ramon Reyes.
The court also ordered each of the convicted PCG personnel to pay the heirs of the killed fisherman 50,000 pesos (roughly 960 U.S. dollars) in civil indemnity and 50,000 pesos in moral damages.
"After sifting through the evidence presented, the Court is convinced that the prosecution has been able to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of homicide," the court said.
The elements of homicide, which include the accused having the intention to kill and killing the victim without any justifying circumstance, are present in the case, according to the court.
"The prosecution has clearly established the intent to kill on the part of the accused as shown by their act of shooting the Guang Da Xing No. 28 vessel with the use of high-velocity firearms while they were chasing it," the ruling read.
The lawyer for the eight PCG members said they would appeal the judgment to the Philippine Court of Appeals.
The shooting incident happened at sea 164 nautical miles (about 304 km) southeast of Taiwan on May 9, 2013, when PCG personnel patrolled the seas and chased the fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 28. The PCG members shot and killed the 65-year-old fisherman Hung on the boat.
The Philippine authority launched an investigation after the killing.
On April 3, 2014, the Philippine Department of Justice formally filed criminal charges against eight PCG members of homicide and obstruction of justice for their involvement in the fatal shooting. Enditem
