25 detained for violating fishing, employment laws

GEORGETOWN: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained 25 fishermen early morning today for violating fishing and employment laws.

MMEA District Two First Admiral Kamaruszaman Abu Hassan said those detained comprised of 11 foreigners and 14 locals.

He said eight of the foreigners were from Myanmar while the remaining three were from Thailand.

He said checks showed the foreigners did not have valid travel permits or proper work documents.

“Some of them were found hiding in containers used to store fish, and they were hidden there by the ‘tekong’ (captain) of the boats, he said in a statement.

Kamaruszaman said those detained were aged from 16 to 72 while the boats were taken to the Kuala Muda jetty for further investigations.

He added the the enforcement team also seized 788kg of fish during the pre-dawn operation.

The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the Immigration Act 1959.