KOTA KINABALU: Thirty-eight Vietnamese fishermen were slapped with a total of more than RM3 million in fines for illegally fishing in Malaysian waters and using fishing vessel with unknown registration numbers.
Sessions Court judge Elsie Primus imposed the fines on the accused persons aged between 20 and 51 after they pleaded guilty to the charges which were read in Vietnamese, yesterday.
There were four fishing vessels involved with a skipper for each boat and crew of 11, 10, eight and five members, respectively.
For the first three boats, the skippers, Nguyen Van Bay, Huynh Van Oanh and Nguyen Van Minh were fined RM250,000 each, in default, five months in jail while the rest of the crew members were fined RM70,000 each, in default, three months in jail for fishing in Malaysian waters without a licence.
Bay, Oanh and Minh together with their crews were apprehended by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) personnel on three different fishing vessels with registration numbers of QNG95239, QNG9500 and SBF50, respectively, on May 21 at PAPA station waters.
The offence was framed under Section 15(1) of the Fisheries Act 1985(Act 317) punishable under Section 25(a) of the same Act, which carries a fine of up to RM1 million for the skipper and RM100,000 for the crew.
Minh and his crew also received another fine of RM200,000, in default, four months in jail, and RM50,000, in default, three months in jail, respectively, for using fishing vessel with unknown registration number.
The offence was under Section 14(3)(b) of the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317) and punishable under Section 25(a) of the same Act.
Then, skipper Nguyen Van Hieu, and his five crew members were fined RM200,000, in default, four months in jail and RM50,000, in default, three months in jail, respectively, for using a fishing vessel with registration numbers of KT6606/3/F, which is unknown.
Hieu and the crew were apprehended about 1.8 nautical miles Northeast off Pulau Mandi Darah in Pitas waters on July 29.
In mitigation, counsel Hamida Ambo, who represented Bay, Oanh, Minh and their respective crewmen, pleaded for a lenient fine on the grounds that they admitted their wrongdoings and have families to support.
Meanwhile, counsel Luke Ressa Balang, who represented Hieu and his crew, also requested a minimum fine as the accused persons, who are remorseful, have low wages.
Deputy public prosecutor from the MMEA, Wan Muhammad Fitri Wan Azizan, in reply, requested an adequate sentence to be imposed on the accused persons.
He said the men intruded into the Malaysian waters and such offence affected the economy in fisheries sector.