Viral Indonesian Crew Detained In China, Here's The Ministry Of Foreign Affairs' Explanation

Illustration of a tanker> (Wikimedia Commons/John Maravelakis)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the upload of information on the detention of Indonesian citizens (WNI) who worked as crew members of foreign ships, saying that Indonesian representatives had provided assistance and communicated with their families.

"So far, there has been communication between family members and the Indonesian Consulate General in Shanghai," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Teuku Faizasyah via text message on August 10.

Meanwhile, citing a written statement from the Indonesian Consulate General in Shanghai through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Zhejiang Coast Guard has arrested 4 Indonesian crew members with the initials: ES (Ship Captain), K (Officer), S (translator) and AEP (crew) who work on the MT Sun. Chang in Wenzhou county, China on December 27, 2020.

"The incident was reported to the Indonesian Representative on January 27, 2021. They were arrested for smuggling gasoline into the Wenzhou area, China," the statement said.

During the court process at the Wenzhou City Intermediate People's Court, it was revealed that the four Indonesian crew members were recorded to have smuggled goods into China 22 times since 2015.

When arrested, they were proven to have smuggled 36,960 tons of gasoline, so that the Chinese side suffered a tax loss of 77,415,737 RMB or the equivalent of approximately Rp. 170 billion.

Bismillah, Assalamu'alaikum to all friends. I am the 3rd child of one of the ship's crew who is currently 17 months in custody of the Chinese Marine Police, which is precisely in the Wenzhou area of China, China.

— addddd (@adekistrifal) August 4, 2022

The results of the trial, the four Indonesian crew members were sentenced to imprisonment and different fines. ES (ship captain) was sentenced to 7 years in prison and fined 350,000 RMB (approximately IDR 770 million). Then K was sentenced to 6 years in prison and a fine of 300,000 RMB or around Rp. 660 million. Meanwhile, S and AEP were sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 230,000 RMB or around Rp. 500 million.

"During the course of the case, the Indonesian Representative in Shanghai had communicated with the families of the four crew members, including sending the court decision files to the families," the statement said.

He added that during the trial process, the four Indonesian crew members were provided with pro bono lawyer assistance and monitored by the Indonesian Representative in Shanghai, to ensure the fulfillment of all Indonesian citizens' rights in accordance with local law.

The latest information is that the verdict has been received by the defendants and there is no appeal against the verdict.

As previously reported, there was a viral thread about the alleged detention of an Indonesian citizen (WNI) who works as a ship captain by law enforcement officers in China. The thread on social media was written by someone who claimed to be the captain's son.

The boy faces obstacles in finding clarity about his father's plight. He collided with the bureaucracy here and there so that he finally spilled his worries on social media.

In the thread, the child with the Twitter account @adekistrifal recounted the incident that his father experienced, a tanker captain.

"I am the 3rd child of one of the crew of the ship who is currently 17 months in custody of the Chinese Marine Police, which is precisely in the Wenzhou area of China, China," he wrote in the post.