Four fish bombers nabbed

Reeling them in: The suspects being detained near Pulau Gaya in Sandakan.

KOTA KINABALU: One group gave authorities the slip while another was nabbed for using explosives to catch fish near Pulau Gaya and in waters off Sandakan respectively, in two separate cases here.

In the first case, four men ditched their catch weighing over 140kg after marine officials patrolling near Pulau Gaya saw two pump boats cruising without lights at about 6.35pm on Wednesday.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency director for Kota Kinabalu First Admiral Adam Aziz said when the team approached the pump boats, four men jumped into the sea and fled towards the water village on a nearby island.

“The suspects were seen throwing something like bottles into the sea before they jumped in,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

A check on the boats led to a find of some 140kg of fish stored in plastic containers.

“We also found various items believed to be used for fish bombing,” said Adam, adding that the suspects were being hunted down.

This case will be investigated under the Fisheries Act, he said.

In the second case, four foreigners were nabbed near the Langkayan area in waters off the Sandakan district at about 5pm on Wednesday.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency operations deputy chief for Sandakan Commander Mohd Khairulanuar Abd Majid said its patrol team saw a pump boat tilting sideways and went to investigate.

“Our men found five bottles filled with explosive substances believed to be used to bomb fish and a drum filled with about 50kg of fish,” he said.

Four Filipinos, aged between 15 and 47, were detained for investigation under the Immigration Act for travelling without documents and the Fisheries Act for fishing using illegal methods.