Thirteen illegal immigrants from Pingtan County, Fujian who had come on another boat were ordered to return on Min Ping Yu No.

63 illegal immigrants with hands tied by plastic tape were forced by armed officers to enter four of the holds at the bow of the boat.

[3] In the early morning of July 22, fishermen discovered a boat stranded on a beach in Aoqian Town, Pingtan County, Fujian.

Lin Licheng said that people started getting thirsty and suffocated in less than an hour, so they called for help, hit the covers with their heads and scratched them with their fingers, yet it was futile.

According to survivors' accounts, since the seventh hold was close to the bridge which blocked the sight from Taiwanese military, the crew opened its covers as soon as the sky went dark.

Combining with the circumstantial evidence that they had been trapped in tiny, hot, humid and sealed holds, the autopsy thus concluded that they had all died from asphyxia.

[6][1] The claim was refuted by the autopsy results and the fact that these people were crammed in tiny spaces where they could not stand straight and could hardly move, making it impossible for a fight to occur.

On August 15, ROC President Lee Teng-hui said that the public should understand and support the military for its hard work in carrying out the repatriation tasks.

[4][8] The Control Yuan released its investigation report on October 10, which concluded that the military had nothing to do with the incident, claiming that it was the chief crewman who had decided to seal the holds to prevent other people from taking over the boat.