Filipino crewman on Queen Mary II charged with murder

May 19, 2006
Updated 06:23am (Mla time)

Agence France-Presse

LONDON -- A 48-year-old Filipino has been charged with murdering a fellow crew member who died after an alleged argument below decks on the luxury cruise liner Queen Mary II, British police announced Thursday.

Rodolfo Detecio Juanga will appear before magistrates in Southampton, on England's south coast, on Friday.

Juanga is accused of killing fellow countryman Joel Jagatin Tagaan on May 12 while the ship was at sea.

Both men worked as electricians on the Cunard line flagship, Hampshire Police said.

The ship's captain used his powers under section 105 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to detain Juanga until Hampshire Police officers boarded the vessel in Norway.

They have jurisdiction because the 1,132-foot (345-meter) French-built ship is registered in Southampton.

Tagaan, 39, who suffered serious head injuries, died as he was airlifted to hospital in the Netherlands. Juanga was not questioned until he arrived back in Britain.

The Queen Mary II was launched in September 2003 and made its maiden voyage in January 2004. It can carry up to 2,620 passengers, with a crew of 1,253.

It cost an estimated 422 million pounds (619 million euros, 797 million dollars) to build and travels to destinations including New York, the Caribbean and Canada.

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