Dear Editor,
This is regarding the container ship M.V. "Kasuga 1' case in Taiwan and further to my e-mails of 23rd and 24th February,1999. I, Captain Raj Kumar Goel, and a colleague of mine are in custody in Taiwan for the last three years.
We had a hearing in High Court yesterday. India-Taipei Association (Indian De-Facto Embassy) representative submitted an Affidavit to High Court. This affidavit is Jurisdiction claim by India and also India's committment that if a foreign sailor is involved in a similar case in India then Indian govt will release him on the basis of International Law as India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Our lawyer also forcefully argued that Taiwan has no Jurisdiction over our case and referred to the recent case of a Taiwan fishing boat where (Taiwanese Captain is detained in Mauritius for killing eleven Chinese sailors and forcing four others to jump in the sea) Taiwan has claimed Jurisdiction over the case.
Earlier twice the case went to Supreme Court but it was send back to High Court for retrial. This is the third time High Court is hearing the case. This Affidavit by Indian govt will only help us if Indian govt office in Taiwan can maintain some pressure on Taiwan govt otherwise Taiwanese courts have been contradicting their own rulings. The problem is that for every small thing India-Taipei Association seeks instruction from Indian Foreign Ministry and that takes atleast a month, by that time things change or get worst or the case moves from one court to another.
Thanks and regards
Captain Raj Kumar Goel