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.