The four nabbed fishermen on board a boat.
KOTA KINABALU: Four fishermen were arrested for spear fishing in waters off Mengalum Island near here Monday (Jan 8).
Maritime officials made the arrest at around 11am during an operation dubbed Ops Sejahtera and Ops Tiris.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director for Sabah and Labuan, Datuk Che Engku Suhaimi Che Engku Daik said prior to the arrest, maritime officials had noticed a fishing boat and suspected something amiss.
“Our men stopped the boat and the four men comprising a local skipper, two undocumented fishermen and a Filipino were inspected,” he said in a statement.
He said the skipper failed to produce any boat licence when asked while the fishermen could not produce any identification document.
Suhaimi said a homemade spear was seized during the operation as well.
This case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985, Immigrations Act 1959/63 and Sabah Ports and Harbour Enactment 2002.
