South Korean prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the captain of a ferry that capsized in April, leaving 304 people, most of them school children, dead or missing.

They allege that Lee and his crew abandoned their ship before it sank while giving orders to the mostly teenage passengers to stay in their cabins.

Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for three crew members charged with homicide, and prison terms ranging from 15 to 30 years for the rest of the crew.

A three-judge panel is expected to announce its verdicts in November.

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