A Taiwanese court has thrown out a widow's damages claim against a smuggling captain who left her husband to drown and then lied to Hong Kong police, closing off her last route to compensation.

• A smuggling boat sank off Hong Kong in 2017; five crew escaped by lifeboat, but the engineer, who couldn't swim, went down with the ship.
• The captain told Hong Kong police everyone had been rescued, hiding the missing man to keep the smuggling operation quiet.
• He was convicted only of pocketing the family's compensation money, and the criminal abandonment case collapsed because the crime happened outside Taiwan's jurisdiction.
• The widow then sued for murder damages, but the court said she had no evidence — the boat sank in seconds and nothing showed her husband was still alive when the captain lied.

Outlook: The widow can still appeal the civil ruling, but with the criminal case already closed for good, her chances look slim.