Kota Kinabalu: Fourteen Vietnamese fishermen were fined a total of RM1.8 million by the Sessions Court here for illegal fishing in Malaysian fishing waters two months ago.
Pham Van Giau, the 37-year-old skipper and crews Dang Luc, Duong Van Dat, Le Van Loc, Nguyen Khac Len, Pham Tan Loi, Duong Van Tuan, Nguyen Thanh Quang, Pham Van Day, Tran Tien, Nguyen Van Nam, Nguyen Van Thua, Nguyen Tan Trien and Nguyen Van Phong, aged between 23 and 51, who appeared before Judge Elsie Primus, pleaded guilty through Vietnamese interpreter, to the offence.
The 14 admitted to fishing and trying to fish without any authorisation issued by the Director General of Fisheries Malaysia at 1.15pm, on Dec 9, 2023 on board of a foreign fishing boat approximately 126.4 nautical miles from the nearest land of Mantanani Kecil Island, Sabah.
Pham was ordered to pay a fine of RM500,000 or five months jail while the 13 crews were fined RM100,000 or four months jail each.
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The court also ordered the seized boat and equipment to be forfeited by the government.
The 14 had committed an offence under Section 15(1)(a) of the Fisheries Act 1985 and punishable under Section 25(a) of the same Act and read together under Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides for a fine of up to RM6 million for the vessel skipper, and RM600,000 for each crew of the vessel, on conviction.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nurun Nazifah Muhammad Iyen prosecuted.
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