KUCHING: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak detained three foreign Indonesian fishing boats for encroaching on Malaysian waters on Nov 7 at 6.05 am.
Sarawak Maritime director First Admiral Zin Azman Md Yunus said the agency identified the foreign vessels fishing illegally about 110 nautical miles northwest of Tanjung Kidurong.
A total of nine crew members, all Indonesians, on board the three vessels, including their skippers, were arrested.
They were aged between 22 and 45 years old.
“None of them could produce valid identification documents, and it was revealed that all three boats had entered Malaysian waters for fishing without proper authorisation,” Zin Azman said.
They are suspected of violating Section 15 (1) (a) of the Fisheries Act 1985 for fishing in Malaysian waters, and Section 6 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not having valid identification documents.
The crew members and their boats were taken to the Maritime Complex Jetty Tun Abang Salahuddin (KOMTAS) for investigation.
