Kota Kinabalu: Nine Vietnamese were fined a total of RM1.6million for using a fishing vessel with unidentified registration numbers.
They were skipper Dang Duy Binh, 43, crew Vo Tan Luc, 43, Nguyen Dien, 39, Le Van Khanh, 40, Tran Vran Trung, 33, Dang Chuan, 39, Le Thanh Quang, 36, Nguyen Van Ni, 38, and Nguyen Quang Quy, 40.
All of them pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus.
The skipper was fined RM800,000 in default six months’ jail while the crew were fined RM100,000 or five months’ jail each.
The Vietnamese had used the fishing vessel that displayed unidentified registration numbers at 8.30am on Dec 2, 2021 at Pulau Gaya, here.
The offence under Section 14(3)(b) of the Fisheries Act 1985 (Act 317) and punishable under Section 25(a) of the same Act and read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides for a fine of up to RM6 million for the skipper and RM600,000 for the crew, on conviction.
After paying their fine or serving jail sentence, the court ordered the Vietnamese to be referred to the Immigration Department.
The court also fixed March 9 for mention for the other seven Vietnamese who were supposed to be charged together with the nine on Thursday.
However, the seven were tested positive for Covid-19.
During mitigation, the Vietnamese asked for leniency and to be deported to their country as soon as possible.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Risal Abd Fikkah from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) urged the court to impose an adequate sentence.
