A Chinese fishing boat captain accused of killing a South Korean Coast Guard officer last week admitted to his crime on Monday, reversing his previous denials.

The 41-year-old captain’s admission came during an escorted visit by Coast Guard officers to a pier in Incheon, west of Seoul, for an on-the-spot investigation.

Asked by reporters whether he admitted his crime, the captain said “Yes” through a Chinese interpreter.

“I apologize for the victim who was killed because of my mistake as well as to his family members,” the captain surnamed Chen said. “(The crime was committed) Because Coast Guard officers’ raid operations were too strong.”

The Chinese captain was arrested after stabbing a local Coast Guard corporal to death a week earlier during a local crackdown on Chinese sailors illegally fishing in South Korea’s exclusive economic zone in the Yellow Sea.

During the raid, officer Lee Cheong-ho was stabbed and died of severe organ damage. Another officer was also seriously wounded after being stabbed by the Chinese captain.

The Coast Guard arrested the captain on charges of murder and intrusion into local fishing waters, and also charged eight other sailors aboard the 60-ton vessel with the captain.

For the past week, the captain had denied that he killed the local officer. 

(Yonhap News)