28 Jan 2015

West Papuan police to sink Vietnamese fishing boat

8:25 pm on 28 January 2015

Police in West Papua say they will sink a Vietnamese-flagged vessel caught allegedly fishing illegally in the province's waters.

The West Papua Police chief Brigadier General Paulus Waterpauw told The Jakarta Post that fishermen proved guilty of stealing resources will be brought to justice, as a deterrant.

He says special measures have been taken to sink the foreign boat.

The police say they found over 2,000 kilograms of shark fins, 45 turtles, five manta rays, 586 manta fins, a gill net, and 3.5 kilograms of formalin powder to preserve fish.

The vessel's captain and crew are reported to have been questioned at Raja Ampat police office.

12 Vietnamese citizens were on board the KM Thank Cong when it was seized.

Two have been named suspects, including the captain, while the others are still under investigation.