The five fishing boats comprised four Vietnamese-flagged vessels and one Malaysian-flagged vessel.
The boats were destroyed by sinking them in the waters of Abang Island, Batam City.
"The ships were sunk in keeping with the principle of preserving the marine environment, so we did not use bombs. However, they leaked the hull of the boats, so that they sank slowly and did not affect the ecosystem and marine life," Hari Setiyono, head of the Riau Islands High Prosecutors' Office, stated here on Tuesday (Dec 29).
The boat sinking action was taken in accordance with the court verdicts that also sentenced the suspects -- Ngo Van Dung, Nguyen Van Quyen, Yelwin OO, Le Thanh Sanga, and Nguyen Huu Phuoc -- in the poaching case.
"This extermination aims to have a deterrent effect on foreign fishing vessels (KIA) that loot Indonesian marine resources, particularly in the waters off Riau Islands," he emphasized.
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Translator: Ogen, Fardah
Editor: Suharto
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