Maritime body wants trial of RI pirates for hijacking

Maritime body wants trial of RI pirates for hijacking

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) hopes Indonesia will extradite and prosecute seven Indonesian pirates arrested last month in the Philippines after they allegedly hijacked a cargo ship, a news report said Monday.

The IMB's regional director P. Mukundan was quoted by the Star daily as saying the shipping community wanted the trial to take place quickly.

"It would be tragic if they were not prosecuted after all the effort taken to bring them back to Indonesia," he told the newspaper.

"As the offense took place in Indonesia and involves an Indonesian vessel and Indonesian pirates, there can be little doubt that the Indonesian government has the jurisdiction to try the pirates," he said.

Philippine coast guard officials on March 25 arrested the seven Indonesian men at Salumagi port in the Ilocos Sur province after they sailed in on board the hijacked MV Inabukwa and tried to sell its cargo.

The cargo ship was carrying US$2.1 million worth of tin ingots, tin concentrates and white pepper.

The pirates hijacked the vessel on March 15 while it was sailing for Singapore after leaving Indonesia's Bangka island.

The ship's 23 crew members were tied up and abandoned on an uninhabited island near Singapore, where they were rescued three days later by fishermen.

The Star said Indonesian police have begun negotiations with Philippine authorities to get the seized vessel released and to take over investigations into the hijack.

According to the IMB, Indonesia is the most pirate-infested country in the world, accounting for 119 or a quarter, of the total 469 pirate attacks reported worldwide last year.