Eight Indonesians are to be extradited from Vietnam for trial in Malaysia for robbing the tanker Orkim Harmony in June last year
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency director-general Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar said the government had agreed to provide an allocation to bring all eight to Malaysia.
The Orkim Harmony went missing off Tanjung Sedili in Johor on June 11 last year with 22 crew members on board. They comprised 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Myanmar national.
The Malaysian military and the MMEA carried out a search over the South China Sea for the missing tanker, which was carrying 6,000 tonnes of RON95 petrol, valued at RM21 million.
It was spotted in the Gulf of Thailand by a Royal Australian Air Force crew on board a P-3C Orion patrol aircraft. The pirates released the ship and fled in its rescue boat towards the Vietnam coast.
Vietnamese authorities arrested eight Indonesian men suspected of being the pirates near Tho Chu Island.
“Although Malaysia had obtained approval from the Vietnamese court to extradite and try them in this country, several processes must be made before they are tried in the Malaysian court. I expect them to be brought to Malaysia for trial in the near future and I hope the prosecution process will run smoothly and be in Malaysia’s favour,” he said.
“If the case can be brought to Malaysia, it will be the first extradition case and the MMEA hopes it can be implemented as soon as possible,” he said.
Ahmad Puzi said the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Foreign Ministry and MMEA had worked together to extradite the eight suspects.
On Sept 22, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim announced that the application to extradite the eight Indonesian suspects involved in the case had been approved by the Vietnamese Court.
Source: Free Malaysia Today