Indonesian people-smuggler jailed for six years
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The frail 81-year-old Indonesian captain of an unseaworthy vessel which carried more than 150 asylum seekers to Australia last year has been jailed for six years, a report said on Wednesday.
Madi Lena Samsudin must spend at least three years behind bars in Australia before being eligible for parole, AFP quoted the Perth-based West Australian daily as saying.
Samsudin, who had pleaded guilty to bringing 154 asylum seekers, mainly from Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, into Australia last November, was sentenced on Tuesday in the Australian District Court.
The maximum penalty for the offense is 20 years' jail or an A$ 220,000 (US$121,000) fine.
The court heard that Samsudin ignored repeated warnings to return to Indonesian waters and continued towards Ashmore Reef, off the north-west coast of the Australian mainland, where the boat broke down.
The Australian Navy spent three days trying to repair the crippled engine, the court heard.
Witnesses said most of the original 10-member crew had left the boat, the Senar Buntung 111, in Lombok island, while Samsudin and two others continued towards Australia.
Passengers paid between US$550 and US$3,300 for the sea journey from Indonesia, from which Samsudin stood to earn a total of about US$200 and get ownership of the boat on his return.
Judge Lindy Jenkins said while Samsudin was not a people- trafficker, he had facilitated the voyage.
She accepted passengers had taken control of the boat and would not let him turn it around once it reached Australian waters.
"As captain of the vessel you (Samsudin) were pivotal to the success of the trip," the judge said.
"The lives of 150 people were put at risk by your being willing to transport them in a vessel that was mechanically unsound and which did not have adequate lifesaving equipment on what was essentially a secret trip so that emergency authorities would be unaware if the boat got into difficulties.
"Your motive for acting as captain was to obtain what was substantial capital for you (equal to a year's income)."
She took into account a medical report describing him as a frail, aged man.