Extradited pirates sentenced to jail, rotan
The being escorted out of Senai International Airport in Pic by Hairul Anuar Rahim KULAI: After a 16-month extradition process, eight suspects of the MT Orkim Harmony robbery last year finally faced justice.
The Indonesian men, aged between 21 and 63, arrived here on a chartered flight from Vietnam yesterday.
Led by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar, the security detail for the suspects comprised 40 men and officers from the agency’s Special Action Unit, Intelligence Branch and Criminal Investigation Branch as the suspects were deemed very dangerous.
The flight departed Hanoi at 1.30am local time and arrived at Senai International Airport at 6.14am.
On arrival, the eight men were transported to the Kota Tinggi Sessions Court, where they each pleaded guilty to gang robbery.
Judge Salawati Djambari sentenced two of them to 18 years’ jail and the other six men to 15 years’ jail and five strokes of the cane.
This is the first extradition case for MMEA in bringing foreigners to Malaysia to face criminal charges.
“We do not have an extradition agreement with Vietnam, so we had to refer to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and Foreign Ministry,” Puzi said at the airport.
“We wanted to conduct the process professionally and respectfully. This would be a case study for us and we have documented it for future reference.”
MT Orkim Harmony, with its 22 crewmen onboard, were reported missing on June 12 last year, with its last known location being 23.5 nautical miles northeast of Tanjung Sedili, Kota Tinggi.
The Malaysian-registered vessel was on its way from Malacca to Kuantan and carrying 5,879 metric tonnes of RON95 petrol when the suspects boarded it on June 11 near
under heavy security Pulau Aur, Mersing.
After a four-day search, the vessel was spotted 80 nautical miles west of Vietnam on June 18. However, the name of the vessel was changed to Kim Harmon by the suspects.
When the authorities boarded the vessel, the suspects had escaped using the vessel’s rescue boat. All crewmen were found safe, except for Mavin Matin, 47, who was shot in the thigh by one of the suspects.
The suspects were arrested by the Vietnamese authorities at Tho Chu Island.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the Vietnamese government and local government agencies that were involved.
“This shows we are serious in protecting Malaysian waters and the people using it,” said Puzi.
Present at the airport were MMEA deputy director general (operation) Datuk Zulkifli Abu Bakar and Southern Region director First Admiral Adon Shahlan.