A Taiwanese fishing trawler seized by Myanmar more than a month ago was allowed to leave Friday after paying a fine, while its Taiwanese captain and nine Indonesian crew members were safe, reports said. The Shing Chuang Jyi (???), registered on the Pingtung County island of Liuchiu (??), had unloaded its cargo in Kawthaung, the southernmost town in Myanmar, on January 25, and was preparing to set course for neighboring Thailand when a military vessel stopped it and forced it to stay, reports said. The captain, named as Tsai Jui-hsien (???), and the crew were safe and their movements had not been restricted, according to a conversation the Liuchiu fisheries association had with the man on Friday. The Myanmar military wondered why he had not halted his ship when the former used a warning light but waited until they fired a gun, Tsai said. The captain said he told the authorities he had never seen the warning light. Talks between a member of the Indonesian crew and the Myanmar military had not borne any results, while a businessman was now reportedly acting as a go-between. Tsai’s relatives informed the fisheries association of his plight, which turned for assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from the Fisheries Agency at the Council of Agriculture. Friday evening, a businessman acting as a go-between said diverging points of view between the Myanmar fishing authorities and the military about the ship’s activities were behind the incident. The fishing trawler and its complete crew were allowed to leave port Friday after paying a fine of US$10,000 (NT$310,000).