Malaysian marine police have detained seven Indonesian fishermen for encroaching in Malaysian waters off the eastern Perak state, official media said Monday.
The seven men, aged between 16 and 65 and riding in two boats, were detained Saturday after a marine patrol discovered them fishing illegally in Malaysian waters, said state marine police Chief Salehuddin Mat Zaman.
Salehuddin said that the men had initially tried to flee, resulting in a 20-minute sea chase before they were finally forced to stop.
â€All the fishermen did not have personal identification documents, but they admitted to be Indonesian citizens from Tanjung Beringin in
Police also seized 110 kilograms of caught tuna, a set of navigational compasses, fishing equipment and eight drums used to store fish.
The suspects will be charged with intrusion and illegal fishing, said Salehuddin. If found guilty, the skippers each face a fine of 1 million ringgit (US$266,666), while each crew member stands to be fined 500,000 ringgit.