Singaporean Authorities Chase Malaysian Fishermen Away For Trespassing, But They Were In Johor

By Quinny Tan  •  26 Oct 2022 in News

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It wasn’t too long ago that Vikings and pirates were battling it out on the raging seas, invading foreign lands and fuelling the slave trade. Though the world is a more civilised place now, territorial disputes are still common.

A few days ago, a dispute happened with our neighbours just across the shore. 10 Malaysian fishermen were allegedly chased away by the Singapore Police Coast Guard, but sources say that they were on Malaysian waters anyway. Let’s dive in (pun intended):

According to Bernama, the group of fishermen were setting up shrimp nets in the Pasir Laba area, near the Second Link Bridge when they were chased away by Singaporean authorities.

At about 5:30pm, the Police Coast Guard used loudspeakers from their boat to drive out the fishermen, even though they were allegedly in their respective territorial waters.

In a 2-minute viral video that was circulated on Facebook, the group of fishermen and the Singapore police can be seen having a verbal altercation near the Singapore border.

Kota Iskandar State Assembly Member, Datuk Pandak Ahmad, reportedly admitted that he regretted the actions of the Singaporean authorities. Not to mention how the fishermen were supposedly chased away with profanity.

“What is regrettable is that the area where the fishermen wanted to anchor their net was still in national waters in the Straits of Johor. Instead, it is the republic’s patrol boat that actually trespassed the national border,” he said.

The group has since lodged a police report and Iskandar Puteri police chief Rahmat Ariffin said his department received the report at 2.30pm the day after the incident.

The police chief advised the public not to make any speculations that could disrupt public order and reassured that investigations are well underway.

According to Berita Harian, Datuk Pandak said similar incidents have occurred a few times. However, fishermen have kept silent in order to avoid getting involved.