Indonesian nationals fined and jailed in Malaysia for illegal fishing, fake IDs

A Malaysian Sessions Court imposed fines totalling RM1.44 million on six Indonesian fishermen who admitted to illegal fishing in Sarawak waters. Two skippers, Suhardiy (48) and Kamisa (45), were each fined RM600,000, while four crew members were each fined RM60,000. The court ordered four‑month prison terms if the fines are not paid and seized both vessels and the caught fish. The offences occurred in July off the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex and near Tanjung Po, and were intercepted by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency under operations Ops Permai 01/19, Ops Naga and Ops Tiris 4.0.

In a separate case, 22 Indonesian workers – 21 women and one man – were sentenced to two months in prison by Malaysian magistrates after pleading guilty to using counterfeit MyKad identity cards to work at a rubber factory in Klang. The prosecutions, part of "Ops Getah," were heard in two magistrate courts and aimed at curbing document fraud. Sentencing began on 6 August, with the defendants detained on 6 August after the operation uncovered the illegal employment scheme.