Malaysia frees 4 Indonesian fishermen

Medan: Malaysian police have freed four Indonesian fishermen who had been arrested in the Malacca Strait and detained for 14 days in Penang.

The four freed fishermen have been identified as Effendi, M.Yunan, Wirya and Rahmat. They are all residents of Belawan, Medan, North Sumatra.

They were freed together with the fishing boat in which they had been sailing when they were held by the Malaysian police.

Head of the Medan office of the Indonesian Fishermen Association Zulfachri Siagian said that the men were expected to arrive at Belawan port on Monday evening. “The four were freed by the Malaysian government on Friday. They were sent off on Sunday by the Indonesian representative in Penang. They will likely arrive this evening,” Zulfachri said on Monday, adding that the four returned home aboard their own boat.

He further said that the four fishermen had been released following an appeal by the Indonesian representative in Penang who did so after being pressured by various parties at the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry and the Association of Indonesian Fishermen.

He also explained that this was the first time fishermen had been released by the Malaysian government in the last several years. Usually any Indonesian fisherman caught by the Malaysian authorities was questioned for about a week and sentenced to six months in prison.