Widow of Slain Piracy Hostage Loses Claim

Hostage killed during hijack.

Widow of Slain Piracy Hostage Loses Claim

By RICHARD RABICOFF

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) – The widow of a Taiwanese man whose fishing vessel was sunk in the effort to rid it of pirates cannot seek damages, the 4th Circuit ruled.

Wu Lai-Yu was the master and owner of the ship, Jin Chun Tsai 68, which pirates hijacked in 2010.

He and two crew members were still aboard the JCT 68 as hostages on May 10, 2011, when the USS Stephen W. Groves followed orders from a NATO task force commander to engage the ship and forced its surrender.

Three of the nearly two dozen pirates were killed in the engagement, and a special team also found Wu in his sleeping quarters, “with the crown of his head shot off,” the master’s widow, Wu Tien Li-Shou, claimed in a federal complaint against the United States.

Wu’s crew members were rescued safely, and the USS Groves intentionally sunk the JCT 68 the next day, with Wu’s body on board, pursuant to the NATO commander’s orders.

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Source: courthousenews.com