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.