Thai fishermen jailed in Aceh

SABANG, Aceh: The Sabang district court has sentenced 40 Thai fishermen to seven months in jail each on Saturday for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters.

They were among 80 being detained by police.

The court also decided to seize dozens of fishing vessels used for illegally fishing around Rusa island, South Aceh in November last year.

Of the seven month sentence, the 40 Thai fishermen are only expected to stay in jail for a few more days since they have already spent nearly seven months in detention.

The verdicts were lighter than the prosecutor's demand, which asked the court to sentence the defendants to seven years in jail and fine them between Rp 10 million and Rp 15 million, Antara reported. (jun)