Seychelles Supreme Court discharges Vietnamese man arrested on suspicion of murder on vessel

Palais de Justice which houses the Supreme Court of Seychelles. (Seychelles News Agency)

A Vietnamese national who was arrested as a suspect in a murder at sea case in December was discharged by the Supreme Court of Seychelles and returned to the vessel Jain Lin.

According to a court report, the Vietnamese man was discharged on February 6 after a charge by the government against him was withdrawn under section 65 A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

According to section 65  A for withdrawals in trials before subordinate courts, "In a trial before any court a public prosecutor may, with the consent of the court or on the instructions of the Attorney General, at any time before judgment is pronounced, withdraw from the prosecution of any person."

Furthermore upon such withdrawal "if it is made before the accused person is called upon to make his defence, he shall be discharged, but such discharge of an accused person shall not operate as a bar to subsequent proceedings against him on account of the same facts."

The man, who initially appeared before the court on December 26, was involved in an incident on a fishing vessel in the Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) where there was an altercation between two crew members.

According to initial reports received by the Seychelles Police, there was a fight between two members of the crew in which the Vietnamese suspect injured a 22-year-old man from Myanmar with an object and he died as a result.