Missing Dutch vessel to be seized

BATAM, Riau: The local district court issued on Monday a verdict to seize the missing Dutch-flagged MV Amsterdam Zeist dredger and sentenced in absentia its Dutch captain, Leutscher Erick, to three years in jail with a Rp 500 million fine.

The captain was found guilty of attempting to steal 3,000 cubic meters of sea sand in Teluk Jodoh on Batam island last year, before being intercepted by an Indonesian Navy patrol.

But the captain is believed to have fled to Singapore aboard the vessel on June 10 after its owner submitted a request to the court to leave Tanjung Guncang Seaport for repairs.

The case has been reported to Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, who discussed the matter with Dutch Ambassador Baron S. van Heemstra on Friday. (bby/noer faisal)