The Vietnamese skipper and crew are seen at the Kuching Court Complex.
KUCHING (June 10): The Sessions Court here today fined a Vietnamese skipper RM10,000 and each of his five crew members RM7,000 after they pled guilty to illegally fishing in Malaysian waters.
Skipper Tran Ngoan and crew members Duong Nua, Vo Vao, Buoi Sang, Tran Ty, and VI Thanh were all convicted under Section 16 (3) of the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317).
All six will face a three-month jail sentence should they default on the fine.
According to the facts of the case, the six were jointly charged with failing to notify the authorities on their country’s origin, location, route, and destination of their fishing vessel by radio, telex, or facsimile.
The offence was committed 100.02 nautical miles from Tanjung Po, Muara Tebas at 4.45am on May 25.
The court also ordered the fishing vessel be handed over to her original owner or agent, apart from stipulating that the proceeds from the sale of the vessel’s diesel fuel be handed over to the Malaysian government after the appeal period.
All the accused were also ordered to be referred to the Malaysian Immigration Department for deportation.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency deputy public prosecutor Yong Ann Nee prosecuted the case while all the accused were represented by counsel Andin Linton, who was present for counsel Ranbir Singh.