38 Vietnamese charged with illegal fishing
KOTA KINABALU: Thirty-eight Vietnamese men claimed trial at the Sessions Court here yesterday to charges of fishing illegally in Malaysian waters and using unidentifiable numbers on two fishing vessels.
The accused, aged between 19 and 46, appeared before judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim to face the joint charges under the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317).
They allegedly used two fishing vessels to commit the offences at Pulau Mengalum waters between 8.40am and 9.10am on August 1.
Besides illegal fishing, they allegedly used SBF 30 and SBF 31 as registration numbers on the fishing vessels, which is an offence under Section 14 (3) of the same Act.
The offences under Section 25 (a) of the Act carry a maximum fine of RM1 million each in the case of the owner or master, and RM100,000 in the case of every member of the crew, upon conviction.
Counsel PJ Perira, who represented all the accused, requested for the boat captain of each vessel to be given bail on grounds that he had a seaman book in his possession.
Deputy public prosecutor from the Maritime Department, Nurun Nazifah Muhammad Iyen objected to the bail application, saying that seaman book was not considered as a valid passport to enter Malaysia.
The court fixed September 11 this year for pre-trial management and ordered all the accused to be remanded pending disposal of the case.