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.