Local prosecutors in Taiwan Island have announced they will put four men on trial for allegedly pushing 26 mainland women overboard from their boat during a smuggling incident on August the 26th. Six of the women died in the incident.

The men are accused of pushing the women overboard to lighten their boat as they tried to evade a Taiwan Coast Guard patrol. The 26 mainland women had boarded two speedboats bound for the island piloted by the alleged human smugglers, known as snakeheads. The prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for two of the accused.

(CCTV.com September 28, 2003)