FOREIGN MINISTRY REPATRIATES 50 SHIP CREW MEMBERS FROM MYANMAR

Jakarta, Jan 19 (ANTARA) - The Foreign Ministry has repatriated a total of 50 ship crew members from Yangon, Myanmar, who arrived in the country on Monday (Jan 18) night by Malaysian Airlines.

The Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities Protection Directorate in a statement made available to Antara here on Tuesday said that it was the second batch repatriation after the Indonesian embassy in Yangon sent home nine Acehnese fishermen on January 13, 2010.

The nine fishermen were arrested by Myanmar's immigration officials for illegal fishing in Myanmarese waters.

The 50 fishermen included crew members of the fishing boats KM Karya Wijaya 201 (seven), KM Min Cin Ying (nine), KM Lestari Wijaya 28 (17), KM Favorit (14) and KM Surya Terbit-02 (three).

The crew members and their skippers were arrested in November 2009. The crew members were each sentenced to three years in jail, while each of their skippers were sentenced to six years imprisonment.

In addition, each of the crew had also been fined Ks. 20,000 (about USD 20), while the fine for each skipper amounted to Ks. 2,000,000 (approximately USD 200).

Apart from that, the Indonesian embassy in Yangon would also repatriate another 43 crew members on January 20, 2010 as the last batch of the repatriation, the Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities Protection Directorate added in its statement.