RI seaman gets 7 years for people-smuggling

RI seaman gets 7 years for people-smuggling

PERTH, Australia (AFP): An Indonesian seaman was jailed for
seven years on Friday for attempting to smuggle 282 illegal
immigrants, the biggest group ever caught by Australian
authorities, earlier this year.

The seven-year sentence, one of the toughest handed out to
people-smugglers by an Australian court, sent a clear message to
those thinking of becoming involved in such a business, judge
David Charters said in the District Court of Western Australia.

Wira Cita, 27, of Jakarta, pleaded guilty three days earlier
to people-smuggling in February.

He had been in custody since being arrested by Australian
federal police, who intercepted a boat crewed by him and another
man off Christmas Island with 282 illegal immigrants on board.

The group risked treacherous seas for two days to reach the
island.

Defense lawyer Rodney Keeley told the court Cita lived in
Jakarta and was unemployed for about three years when a man
offered him the chance to take a boat to Australia.

He was paid Rp 1 million (about US$120) in advance and would
have received a total of Rp 8 million for the job.

Keeley said the money might not be regarded by Australians as
enough to justify the difficult voyage or the possible
consequences. For Cita, however, with a wife and young child to
support, it was an attractive offer.

The court heard that since last July, courts in Western
Australia dealt with 63 crew members from 18 boats which brought
a total of 1,200 illegal immigrants, mainly from the Middle East,
to Australia.

Charters warned Cita at the earlier hearing that he could
expect a heavy penalty because of the big number of people on his
boat.

Jail terms for fishermen previously convicted of bringing boat
people into Australia have mainly ranged between three years and
four years.

Cita will have to serve a minimum of three and a half years
before he is eligible for parole.