Scavengers likely to get off easy

PETALING JAYA: Despite the millions of ringgit they have plundered from the waters off the Malaysian coast, the sea scavengers who stripped shipwrecks in the country are likely to get off easy.

A marine department official said the ship owner and skipper would be charged with violating Malaysian maritime laws for operating without a domestic permit from the Transport Ministry, failing to report and obtain a permit from the northern region marine department for salvage operations and stealing from the wrecks.