Kota Kinabalu: Six Vietnamese fishermen were fined a total of RM1 million for trying to catch fish illegally on Malaysian waters.
Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus meted out the sentence to the Vietnamese who pleaded guilty to the charge against them, Wednesday.
They were skipper Nguyen Thai Hoa, 32, crews Huynh Van Dat, 27, Truong Van Tham, 39, and Nguyen Van Lon, 47, Nguyen Xua, 53, and Tran Cong Chuong, 23.
The skipper was fined RM500,000 in default five months’ jail while the crews were ordered to pay fine RM100,000 or four months’ jail each.
The six were found attempting to fish without any permit inside a foreign fishing vessel at 2.57pm on Sept 18 this year at Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, Kudat.
The Vietnamese were charged under Section 15(1) of the Fisheries Act 1985 and punishable under Section 25(a) of the same Act read together under Section 34 of the Penal Code, provides for a fine of up to RM6 million for the skipper, and RM600,000 for each crew of the vessel, on conviction.
During mitigation, counsel Luke Ressa Balang asked for leniency saying that the Vietnamese who were all fishermen just want to find income to feed their families in Vietnam and they have no intention to commit the crime.
Luke said the Vietnamese were very remorseful and wanted to return to their country as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nurun Nazifah Muhammad Iyen from Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the grounds that illegal fishing committed by foreign fishermen had affected the sea resources and livelihood of the local fishermen, especially in Sabah.
The court ordered for the vessel to be forfeited to the Government of Malaysia.
The Vietnamese were also ordered to be referred to the Immigration Department after paying their fines or serving their jail sentences.
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