RI boat crew sent home

RI boat crew sent home

WELLINGTON (AFP): Twenty Indonesian crew members who walked off two South Korean squid boats in Wellington complaining of inhumane treatment are being sent home, the ship's agent said yesterday.

Michael Park, local agent for the Korean Kyung Shin Fishing Company, said the Kum Yang 101 and 102 had left port without their Indonesian crew members. They had enough Korean crew to go to sea and replacement crew would be coming later.

The Indonesian crew were to be sent home by the agent.

They had sought help from the Indonesian Embassy, where they were apparently urged to return to their ships. The embassy, Park and the Korean Embassy have all played down the incident.

Korean second secretary Sang Kun Lee said misunderstandings had been caused by communication problems and claims of inhumane treatment were exaggerated.