QM2 crewmember jailed for life for murder of colleague

**Ally** · 09-23-2006, 08:21 AM

A crewman on the luxury liner Queen Mary 2 has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a colleague with a hammer.

Joel Jagatin Tagaan, 39, was attacked as he was sitting eating a meal in the crew canteen while the ship was at sea 70 miles off the Dutch coast on 12 May.

Rodolfo Detecio Juanga, 48, admitted murder on the high seas at Winchester Crown Court at a hearing in July.

Juanga was told he must serve a minimum of 13 years in jail.

Judge Michael Brodrick told Juanga: "You armed yourself with a weapon and in my view, with regard to the blows, you intended to kill or at the very least to cause such injuries that Mr Tagaan would never lead a normal life again."

Victim impact

The men, who were both from the Philippines, had been working as electricians on board QM2.

Juanga was jealous that fellow workers were being paid a higher wage, including Mr Tagaan's cousin, the court heard.

Prosecutor Nick Hawkins said: "The defendant took the hammer from the tool bag.

"He hit Mr Tagaan twice from behind with significant force and at least one of those two blows hit the back of Mr Tagaan's head and witnesses described hearing a cracking sound."

Mr Tagaan's wife was flown to England, from her home in the Philippines, to give a victim impact statement, the first of a new pilot initiative across the UK.

Standard of living

Eugenia Tagaan, a mother of two, said in a statement: "I'm unable to say what will happen in the future to his parents or to myself or our children.

"His parents are very worried about the future and how their medication will be paid for."

Det Insp Nigel Niven, of Hampshire police, who had led the inquiry due to the QM2 being Southampton-registered, said outside the court: "Mr Tagaan's hard-earned wages afforded a reasonable standard of living in a very poor environment for his family.

"Without his wages, I feel a sense of despair for their future."

(BBC)