Appellate Court affirms return of forfeited vessel to owner

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KOTA KINABALU: The Court of Appeal here yesterday affirmed the decision to return a fishing vessel belonging to a man that was forfeited when its skipper and crew members were arrested for offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63.

Justices Tan Sri Idrus Harun, Puan Sri Dato’ Zaleha Yusof and Dato’ Rhodzariah Bujang, in a unanimous decision, upheld the High Court’s decision in respect of the property of Robert Yap, that was forfeited from him two years ago.

In this case, the prosecution had appealed to have the Sandakan High Court’s decision to return back the vessel and its equipment to its rightful owner made on October 1, 2017, to be reversed.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency had made an application to the Sessions Court in Sandakan to forfeit the fishing trawler soon after the vessel’s skipper and crew members were sentenced to jail.

The application, made under Section 49A of the Immigration Act, was granted by the Sessions Court in Sandakan.

The vessel’s skipper was jailed 108 months for allowing the 27 crew members, who had no valid travel documents, to remain on the vessel, while the foreigners were also jailed on separate charges of entering the State illegally, all of which were framed under the Immigration Act.

All of them were arrested inside the vessel while in the waters off Sandakan on August 24, 2016.

Earlier, counsel PJ Perira, for the respondents, contended that a ‘lacuna’ or ‘an empty space in the law’ had arisen as there was no written letter prepared to state that the first Rear Admiral rank is equivalent to the director general of the Immigration Department.