KOTA KINABALU: Four Vietnamese fishermen were fined RM650,000 for illegal fishing in Malaysian waters.
Boat skipper Tran Van Tai, and crew Nguyen Thanh Tuan, Ngo Lam Vu, Vo Minh Quang pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus.
The quartet was arrested at 5.12pm on March 27 inside a foreign vessel at Pulau Gaya for fishing in Malaysian waters without any permit from the Fisheries Department's director-general.
The skipper was fined RM500,000 in default four months' jail while the crew members received RM50,000 fine or three-month imprisonment each.
They were convicted under Section 15(1) of the Fisheries Act 1985 and punishable under Section 25(a) of the same Act read together under Section 34 of the Penal Code.
The punishment provides up to RM6 million fine for the skipper, and RM600,000 for each crew of the vessel, upon conviction.
The Vietnamese men were also ordered to be referred to the Immigration Department after paying their fines or having served their jail sentences.
The court ordered the vessels and equipment used in the commission of the offence to be forfeited to the Malaysian government.