Bintan PLP: 14 Fishermen From Riau Islands Detained By Malaysian Maritime Apparatus

Lustra (ANTARA)

TANJUNG PINANG - Tanjung Uban Marine and Coast Guard Base (PLP), Bintan Regency, Riau Islands Province (Kepri) said 14 fishermen from the area had been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Strengthening Agency (APMM) since Thursday (25/4).

Head of Operations for PLP Tanjung Uban Alfaizul said the 14 fishermen were secured by APMM while using fishing vessels in the waters of Batu Puteh, the border between Indonesia and Malaysia.

"Until now they are still being detained and examined by APMM in the Tanjung Sedeli area, Johor Bahru, Malaysia," said Alfaizul in Bintan, Saturday.

Alfaizul said that of the 14 fishermen detained, 13 of them were residents of Lingga Regency, while another was a resident of Bintan Regency who acted as a fishing boat.

He admitted that he did not know for sure the cause of the fishermen being detained by the APMM.

According to him, there are several possibilities, namely illegal fishing in Malaysian waters or indications of a criminal act of smuggling people (TPPO) because there are three women aged 48 - 50 years.

"It could also be because the ship carrying the ship suffered engine failure, so it was swept away into Malaysian waters. The same incident had happened before, where a number of fishermen from the Bintan Small River were carried into Malaysian waters due to engine failure," he said.

"That's why, the APMM is currently investigating," he said again.

Alfaizul said his party had coordinated with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Johor Bahru regarding the detention of the 14 fishermen.

The results of temporary coordination stated that the fishermen who were detained were currently in good health and were treated well in the neighboring country.

"The plan is that the Indonesian Embassy will only meet with APMM on Monday (29/4) to discuss this issue," said Alfaizul.

He said the Tanjunguban PLP together with relevant stakeholders were ready to deploy the fleet if asked to pick up the 14 fishermen.

Some time before, the Tanjunguban PLP had also picked up the repatriation of Bintan fishermen in Batu Puteh waters after entering Malaysian waters as a result of the engine failure.

The names of the fishermen detained by the APMM include Baharuddin (61), Umar (51), Amiruddin (32), Inon (59), Wawan Murianto (32), Kamaliah (48), Ali Rahim (64), Safar (51), Noraini (52), Ongek (71), Mohamad (40), Andi (30) and Ruslan (47).