We often hear of conflicts and disputes taking place in territorial waters when the boundaries of the area are breached by invaders.
However, in a peculiar incident on Sunday evening, a group of 10 Malaysian fishermen were allegedly chased away by the Singapore Police Coast Guard even though they were in Malaysian waters.
Being chased away
According to BERNAMA, the local 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 in their respective territorial waters.
In a 2 minute viral video that was circulating on social media, the group of fishermen and the Singapore police can be seen having a verbal altercation near the Singapore border.
Still in Malaysian waters
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 curse words.
“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.”
Accordingly, Iskandar Puteri District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Rahmat Ariffin advised the public not to make any speculations that could disrupt public order.
“A police report was made by the representative of the Malaysian fishermen involved and further investigations are underway,” he said in a statement today.
Watch the full video below:
Posted by Saluddin Ismail on Monday, October 24, 2022
Its strange that there was an issue when both parties merely remained in their respective territorial waters. Perhaps something happened to provoke the men.
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