Taoyuan: The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office on Saturday indicted a Chinese national who illegally entered Taiwan with his son on a rubber boat in May. Forty-one-year-old Song Yuankun was indicted for violating Taiwan's Immigration Act, while his 17-year-old son will be referred to the Juvenile Court, the office said.

According to Focus Taiwan, prosecutors confiscated the equipment they used and asked for aggravated sentencing for Song based on the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act. This act stipulates that adults who commit crimes with minors shall be subject to an increase in their sentence of up to 50 percent.

The indictment revealed that Song, a laborer from Yunnan Province, China, believed Taiwan was "prosperous" and aimed to bring his son, a hairdresser, to Taiwan for education. They embarked on their journey at around 6 a.m. on May 15 using an inflatable rubber boat with an outboard motor, purchased from a Chinese online shopping site.

The journey began in Yunnan, where they collected their boat in Fujian Province. Departing from Junshan Village on Pingtan Island, they traveled approximately 68 nautical miles to reach the beach near the Guantang LNG Terminal in Guanyin District, Taoyuan, by 5:30 p.m. the same day.

Upon arrival, they withdrew cash using a UnionPay card for dinner but soon ran out of money. The following morning, around 8 a.m., they surrendered to authorities at the Guanyin police station in Taoyuan, thus bringing the incident to light.

Prosecutors and police investigated any potential espionage motives but ruled out suspicions of spying or asserting Chinese sovereignty after both father and son successfully passed polygraph tests.