Australian, Taiwan men deported

AMBON, Maluku: Immigration authorities have deported an Australian, whose sail boat ran aground, and 111 Taiwanese fishermen, caught poaching in Indonesian territorial waters.

Chief of the Maluku immigration office Abdu Syarief told Antara that the Australian, Colin Alan Usmar, was deported to Darwin, through Bali, yesterday.

The former serviceman's boat ran aground in Dobo, southeast Maluku, after it broke down due to rainstorms on his way to the Philippines, he said. Usmar could not continued his journey because of mechanical problems, he added.

According to Syarief, the police found a World War II gun, clothing, food supplies and immigration documents in his possession.

He said the 111 Taiwanese fishermen were rounded up during a recent naval crackdown on poaching in Indonesia's territorial waters. (pan)