Malaysian navy opens fire on boat

Malaysian navy opens fire on boat

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Navy patrol boats opened fire on an armed
Chinese trawler which encroached into Malaysian waters, after the
vessel refused to heed warnings to stop, police said yesterday.

Four of the 16 crew members aboard the Swee Yee trawler were
"slightly injured" in the two-hour chase drama off Malaysia's
southern Sarawak state on Thursday, Ramli Yusof, a senior police
official for the state said.

"We had to stop them. They were trying to run into regional
waters," Ramli said by telephone from the Kuching capital of
Sarawak.

Ramli said five AK-47 rifles, a machine gun and some
ammunition were found aboard the trawler, which had been licensed
by the Chinese government to carry arms for protection against
pirates.