Chinese Capt. of Taiwanese Fishing Boat Found Guilty, Fined for Trespassing

TheIndonesia.id - A Chinese national who was the captain of a Taiwanese fishing vessel has been found guilty of trespassing into Indonesian territorial waters and fined by Lhokseumawe District Court in Aceh.

Court judges said He Xian Dong violating the law when his fishing vessel entered Indonesian territorial waters in Malacca Strait, and he was sentenced to pay a fine of Rp100 million (US$6,900).

“Sentencing He Xian Dong a fine of Rp100 million,” the verdict read on Tuesday, August 9, as reported by Antara.

The judges said the vessel’s captain was guilty of leading the foreign vessel into Indonesian waters when it did not have the required fishing permit, and he was found to have violated law on job creation.

The public prosecutors had previously demanded Rp150 million fine to be imposed on the captain of Taiwanese-flagged MV Joho GT-198.

Defense attorney Riza Rahmatilah said his camp accepted the sentencing, and his client agreed to pay Rp100 million as ordered by court.

“We accept the verdict from Lhokseumawe District Court. And in regards to the payment, we will communicate it further with owner of the boat,” Rahmatilah said.

Prosecutor M Doni Siddiq also said he’d accepted the verdict despite the sentence being lower than the initial demand.

The case started when Indonesian Navy ship Teuku Umar-385 arrested a Taiwanese fishing vessel in Lhokseumawe waters on June 19.