Five Vietnamese fined for fishing in Malaysian waters
KOTA KINABALU: A Vietnamese ship captain and four of his crew members were fined between RM100,000 and RM1 million for fishing in Malaysian waters.
Nguyen Hoa Hiep, 50, was ordered to pay RM1 million, in default, four months’ jail, while his crew, La Dinh Toan, Chan Ngoc Sang, Tran Thanh Hai and Nguyen Hoang Lanh, aged between 20 and 41, were ordered to pay RM100,000 each, in default, two months’ jail.
The accused persons were taken into custody when they were found on a Vietnamese fishing vessel on March 7 this year, about 19.3 nautical miles from Tanjung Kiamsam near Labuan.
They were ordered to pay the fines upon pleading guilty to the charge under Section 15 (1) (a) of the Fisheries Act 1985, punishable under Section 25 (a) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
On conviction, the provision carries a fine of up to RM6 million for every owner or master of a vessel, and a maximum fine of RM600,000 for every crew.
Sessions Court judge Egusra Ali also ordered the fishing vessel and all equipment to be forfeited to the government.
In a separate case, a 35-year-old man, also from Vietnam, was fined RM1 million for entering Malaysian waters without permission.
Danh Thai was ordered to pay the fine after he admitted to the offence under Section 16 (3) of the Fisheries Act, punishable under Section 25 (a) of the same Act.
The provision carries a maximum fine of RM6 million for every owner or master, and RM600,000 for every crew, upon conviction.
He was taken into custody on July 11 when he was found on a foreign fishing boat 23.4 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Kuraman, Labuan. If he failed to pay the fine, he was ordered to serve a default jail sentence of two months.
Another Sessions Court jailed 11 Vietnamese nationals for six months for illegal entry.
Judge Azreena Aziz ordered the accused persons to serve the sentence for entering and staying in the country without a valid pass or permit.
The charge was framed under Section 6 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63, punishable under Section 6 (3) of the same Act. On conviction, the provision stipulates a fine of not less than RM10,000 or a maximum of five years’ jail or both, with whipping of not more than six strokes.
The accused persons were arrested on July 1, when they were found on a boat about 32 nautical miles west of Pulau Menggalum near here.
In the same case, six other Vietnamese nationals pleaded not guilty to the charge. The court adjourned to January 7, 2021 for case management and fixed February 18 to 19 for trial.