New date set to hear illegal fishing case as no interpreter available

MIRI: A Vietnamese fishing boat skipper and 18 crew members charged with illegal fishing in Malaysian waters were produced in the Sessions Court here yesterday for their case mention.

However, their case will be further mentioned on Nov 15 after deputy public prosecutor ( DPP) Ainy Suhailah of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency ( MMEA) had earlier applied for a new date pending the availability of a Vietnamese interpreter as all the accused are Vietnamese and could only speak in their native language.

Judge Steve Ritikos then granted the application.

Nguyen Duc Van, 44, (skipper) and the 18 crew members were charged under Section 8 (a) of the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317) read together with Section 14A of the same Act and sentenced under Section 25 ( b) of the same Act.

If convicted, they could be fi ned not exceeding RM20,000 or jailed not exceeding two years or both.

Based on the charges, they allegedly fished illegally in Malaysian waters without a valid licence from the director-general of Fisheries Malaysia as provided under Section 9 of the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317).

They allegedly committed the offence at 3.50pm on Oct 16 on a fishing vessel with registration number One United 6 at 56.5 nautical miles from Tanjung Baram.

All the accused were ordered to be detained under Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code pending the trial date.

In a separate case, 19 other Vietnamese fishermen, including a skipper, were also charged in the same court with possessing fishing equipment without valid licence.

Nguyen Van Lau, 49, (skipper) and eighteen of his fi shing crew members were charged under Section 11 ( 3) ( b) of the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317) read together with Section 14A and sentenced under Section 25 ( b) of the same Act.

If found guilty, they could be fi ned not more than RM20,000 or jailed not exceeding two years or both.

They allegedly committed the offence at 2.59pm on Oct 16 on a fishing vessel with registration number One United 19, at 42.3 nautical miles off Kuala Baram.

The court also fi xed Nov 15 for further mention of the case pending the availability of Vietnamese interpreter services.

All accused were ordered to be detained under Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code pending trial.