Lawyer To Defend Detained Vietnamese Fishermen
By Ignatius Stephen

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Vietnamese Embassy here has engaged a lawyer to fight the case of 17 fishermen who drifted into Brunei Exclusive Economic Zone in two boats in the South China Sea.

The lawyer is Yusof Halim of Cheok Sankaram & Halim whom the Embassy contacted on Friday.

The 17 fishermen and their boats detained on two separate occasions were escorted in Muara Marine Police facilities after a Brunei Naval Ship apprehended them allegedly fishing in Brunei waters.

They are being held at the Jerudong Remand Prison for further investigations.

The fishermen say that they had no intention of fishing in Brunei waters.

One boat had its expensive tuna line broken and was searching for it at that time when the Brunei Naval ship spotted it.

The Vietnamese fishing boat had found the broken tuna line eventually and was not aware that they were in Brunei waters. As they were pulling in the line a boat appeared. They had no idea of the identity of the boat.

The boat then asked them to leave and as they moving away towards Vietnam the army boat sailed up close and detained them.

They were taken to Muara.

The second boat, detained a few days later, according to the crew, developed engine trouble and was drifting about for three days. The crew had no idea that they had intruded into Brunei waters.

The boat had already sprung a leak by this time and it was towed into Muara Port.

The detained fishermen are unhappy and claim that they are being unfairly detained. They are saying that it is not their fault and they had no intention to fish in Brunei waters.

There is also the question whether the Brunei Economic Zone is considered territorial waters. The 17 fishermen are due to appear in court again this week. A 14-year-old boy is included in those detained. The last time the Vietnamese fishing boat was detained was back in 1999. The boat was seized and the crew jailed. At that time they did not have the benefit of legal counsel.

The Vietnamese Embassy here is now very anxious that 17 crew and the two boats now being held would not suffer the same fate.

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