By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Aug 7: The Sessions Court imposed fines totalling RM1.44 million on six Indonesian fishermen after they admitted to illegally fishing in Malaysian waters using foreign-registered fishing vessels.
Two skippers, Suhardiy, 48, and Kamisa, 45, were each fined RM600,000, while crew members Kamarulzaman, 32, Wahyudi, 25, Ocep Andriansyah, 41, and Suherman, 44, were each ordered to pay RM60,000.
Judge Iris Awen Jon further ruled that all six men would serve four months in prison if they failed to settle their respective fines.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the two fishing vessels involved, together with the proceeds from the auction of the seized fish after the appeal period expires.
The six accused pleaded guilty to a charge of catching, or attempting to catch, fish in Malaysian fisheries waters using foreign fishing vessels. The offence is punishable under the Fisheries Act 1985.
According to the prosecution, Kamisa and his three crew members, Wahyudi, Ocep, and Suherman, were found fishing about 170 nautical miles from the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex (KOMTAS), Kuching, at approximately 11.35am on July 23.
In a separate incident two days later, Suhardiy and Kamarulzaman were detained at about 11.30am while operating another foreign fishing vessel roughly 120.3 nautical miles off Tanjung Po, Kuching.
Court documents revealed that both vessels were intercepted during enforcement operations conducted by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) under Ops Permai 01/19, Ops Naga and Ops Tiris 4.0 in Sarawak waters.
Maritime officers became suspicious of the vessels’ movements before boarding and inspecting them. Investigations established that both vessels were operated by Indonesian nationals who did not possess permission to carry out fishing activities in Malaysian waters.
Authorities seized approximately 100kg of fish from Kamisa’s vessel and another 50kg from Suhardiy’s vessel.
Subsequent investigations by the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia confirmed that both vessels had been operating within Malaysian waters.
Checks by the Department of Fisheries Malaysia further showed that neither vessel had submitted the required notification or obtained approval through the department’s e-Case Management System to enter Malaysian waters or conduct fishing activities during the relevant period.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Haffiza Jemali appeared for the prosecution, while all six accused were unrepresented. — DayakDaily
