Eight Indonesians were sentenced in prison by a Malaysian court for the hijacking of the oil tanker MT Orkim Harmony last year. Six of them were sentenced to 15 years in jail and five strokes of the cane, while the other two were handed 18-year jail sentences, according to local media. The Indonesians pleaded guilty after they were charged on November 27 in the southern state of Johor, neighbouring Singapore.
The oil tanker was en route from Malaysia’s western coast to the port of Kuantan on the east coast. It was reported to carry around 6,000 tonnes of petrol worth an estimated US$5.6 million when it was commandeered by the eight men on Jun 11 last year. Moreover, the tanker’s 22 crew members are said to be mostly unscathed except for an Indonesian sailor who was treated for a gunshot wound to the thigh.
According to the Malaysian authorities, the eight suspects had escaped from the tanker on a lifeboat under cover of darkness. They subsequently washed up on Vietnam’s southwestern Tho Chu island on a lifeboat claiming to have had an accident at sea about a week after the hijack. However, they were taken into custody after local officials discovered they were carrying large sums of cash, and were accused of hijacking the MT Orkim Harmony oil tanker.
The hijackers were extradited to Malaysia early on November 27 after being held by Vietnamese authorities for almost 18 months.
Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center, said the shipping community hailed the punishment.
“We welcome the tough punishment. It will send a strong signal to potential pirates that crime does not pay,”
