Thai minister accuses RI police of corruption, foils fishing permits

Thai minister accuses RI police of corruption, foils fishing permits

Agence France-Presse, Bangkok

A Thai minister on Tuesday accused Indonesian navy and marine police of corruption for demanding bribes from Thai fishermen operating in Indonesian waters.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Newin Chidchob claimed the Indonesian officials demanded kick-backs from Thai fishermen including those who already had permission from the Jakarta government.

"Based on information I have obtained from Thai fishermen, they have to pay bribes to local uniformed officials on the top of the fee paid to the Indonesian central government," he told reporters.

Newin said that widespread corruption among Indonesian officials discouraged Thai fishing trawlers from seeking legal permits because they often had to pay bribes anyway.

The minister said that some 2,000 Thai fishing vessels operate in the South China Sea and of those 1,000 have no license from the Indonesian government.

"In past two to three months I have been discussing with the Indonesian authorities how to resolve these duplicate payments and manage the system more clearly," he said.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday admitted that Indonesia was justified in the sinking of a Thai-crewed trawler there last week because it had to deter vessels from illegally fishing in its waters.

Scores of Thai nationals have been caught stealing fish in Indonesian waters over the past few years as the kingdom's own fishing stocks have become depleted through over-fishing.