After days of investigation and interrogation, the accused Chinese ship captain and his crew have admitted to have thrown two Tanzanians into shark-filled waters for fears of contacting COVID-19.

According to reports, the two victims were dumped near the mouth of the Tugela River, which contains sharks in their numbers. They spent three days and two nights with no food on the makeshift raft after which they were washed up on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa.

It is thanks to the locals that the two men were rushed on an ambulance to the hospital.

The two men were identified as Amiri Salamu who is 20years and Hassani Rajabu, 30years. Before the Chinese captain and his crew flung them into the waters they gave them life jackets and two bottles of water. They were then instructed to paddle with their hands to land.

After news of the incidence broke out, the South African Maritime Safety Agency, contacted the ship via radio. Upon docking at Richards Bay, the captain was arrested by police officers.

On April 17, the captain and the six crew members admitted to charges of attempted murder before the Durban Magistrates Court. The captain, Rongli was fined Sh500, 000 while the crew was fined Sh250, 000 per person.

News from the court has it that, the two Tanzanians had boarded the ship secretly climbing by the anchor chain while at Durban. It was only after the ship had gone around 25 miles into the sea that the two showed up on the main deck.

According to Natasha Cara, the National Police Authority spokesperson, “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,”

It was after their denial to wear mask that the following day, the crew resolved to by any means send them off on their way.

The defense lawyer on his part argued that “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.”