Ship Capacity 20 Passengers Transport 69 Passengers, Nahkoda S Causes 15 Deaths Threatened With 10 Years In Prison

The captain with the initials S from an inter-village ferry that sank in the waters of Central Buton Regency (Buteng), Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) faces up to 10 years in prison or a fine of Rp. 1.5 billion. S is considered negligent in causing 15 passengers to die.

Suspect S was charged with Article 302 paragraphs 1 and 3 in conjunction with Article 117 paragraph 2 of Law No. 17 of 2008 concerning shipping and or Article 359 of the Criminal Code.

"With the threat of a sentence of 10 years in prison or a maximum fine of Rp. 1.5 billion," said Director of the Water and Air Police (Dir Polairud) of the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police (Polda) Kombes Pol Faisal Florentinus Napitupulu in Southeast Sulawesi, Friday, July 28, confiscated by Antara.

He explained, based on the testimony of witnesses, the ship sank due to overload. The ship driven by S could actually only accommodate as many as 20 passengers.

"This is according to estimates from the witnesses, because these two raft boats were used as one. However, at the time of the incident, it was found that the ship contained 69 people," he said.

Previously, Captain S was named a suspect because his negligence resulted in the death of 15 passengers in the sinking of a ship in the waters of Central Mawasangka Bay, Buteng Regency on Monday, July 24, at around 00.20 WITA.

S, who has been named a suspect, is currently being held at the Command Headquarters (Moko) of the Dit Polairud Polda Sultra.

Faisal said the handling of the case was based on a model A report handled by the Law Enforcement Sub-Directorate (Gakkum) of the Polairud Polda Sultra.

"For LP (reports) we have made type A with the number LP/A/06/VII/2023 SPKT Dit Polairud Polda Sultra dated July 25, 2023," said Faisal.