3 fishermen allegedly tortured by Malaysian navy seek DOJ help

The three fishermen allegedly tortured by the Malaysian navy after encroaching in the waters of the disputed Spratly islands last May have sought help from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Nelson Plamiano, Teody Baisa and Arlon Sandro submitted to the DOJ on Monday afternoon a joint affidavit seeking prosecution of at least 20 members of the Malaysian navy, who allegedly maltreat- ed them during the incident last May 9 at southwest of Rizal Reef.

“We would like to hold liable the 20 Malaysian navy for harming and threatening us,” they said in Filipino.

The fishermen also lamented the failure of the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III to deliver on its promise to serve justice to them.

“Almost two months have passed since the incident and up to now we are still waiting for concrete action from our government and from Malaysian authorities,” they pointed out.

The fishermen said the Philippine Navy has promised to call them for assistance and that former foreign secretary Jose Rene Almendras assured them that the Malaysian government was already informed of the incident.

In their affidavit, they recalled that the Malaysian crew of Lakshamana Tun Abdul Jamil handcuffed, punched, kicked and forced them to kneel on the hot floor of the ship’s deck.

The fishermen said after they were tortured, their fishing equipment were confiscated by the Malaysian authorities, who also gave them a paper with the message that read “Last warning! Aggressive action will be taken if we meet you again.”

They said they were then ordered to jump from the ship 10 nautical miles from the Rizal Reef. They swam back to their boat and sailed to Navotas port.

The fishermen filed their affidavit as a complaint, but Prosecutor General Claro Arellano explained that the DOJ would not be able to conduct preliminary investigation due to lack of identities of the respondents from the Malaysian navy. DOJ does not also have jurisdiction since the incident supposedly took place in Malaysian territory.