Crewman of Chinese boat dies

Crewman of Chinese boat dies

JAKARTA: A crewman on a Chinese fishing boat was killed when a
naval ship opened fire on it off the Papua province on Wednesday,
a Navy spokesman said on Thursday.

The Navy tried to board the Lau Shin Huan on Wednesday for
illegally fishing in Indonesian waters. However, the boat sped
away ignoring four warning shots, said First Adm. Sugeng Waluyo.

The boat, laden with 30 tons of fish, was fired on near the
island of Dolak on the south coast of Papua.

"One crewman died and another was slightly wounded," Waluyo
said. He said no documents were found on the vessel.

The boat was seized and the remaining 24 crew members, all
from mainland China, are being detained at the naval base in
Papua's coastal town of Merauke, Waluyo said.

"We will bring the leaders to court and extradite their
subordinates," the spokesman said. It was not clear whether the
crewman died immediately or later in the hospital.

The head of the eastern fleet, Rear Adm. I Wayan Argawa, had
said on Wednesday that two of the boat's 25-strong crew were
injured.

The Indonesian Navy sank four vessels from the Philippines in
the Sulawesi Sea last month. It said the boats tried to escape
after being caught fishing illegally but the incident prompted a
protest from Manila.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said on Monday the
Indonesian government had agreed not to press charges against 49
crew members from the ships and would repatriate them. --AFP