Court dismisses charges against 25 Kiwai islanders

TWENTY-five islanders in Western province have their charges relating to the alleged breach of the Torres Strait Protected Zone Act dismissed while 15 Indonesians must pay K7,500 for illegally fishing within Papua New Guinea waters.
The Daru district court on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively handed down its decisions on the two groups of fishermen from Iasa and Samari villages at the Kiwai islands and the men from Sulawesi and Kandari.
Senior provincial magistrate Richard Koronai on Wednesday heard the guilty plea from the Indonesians and decided they pay K500 each in fine or be imprisoned for a month with hard labour.
The men, aged between 22 and 32, last appeared before the same court on March 20 after they were charged under Section 58 (1) (h) of the Fisheries Management Act for illegally fishing in PNG waters, believed to be for shark fins.
This was after they were arrested by National Fisheries Authority and police officers on March 9 and 10 respectively near Samari village near the Kiwai islands to the south of Fly river and Bobo island to the east of Daru island.
They were onboard two fishing boats Maurana Riski and Batera Aru.
But the same court on Tuesday and Wednesday dismissed the charges against the islanders for alleged illegal fishing and being in Australian waters without authorisation under Section 14 (1) (a) (ii) and (b) (i) of the Torres Strait Protected Zone Act.
The 25 islanders, the youngest of them a 15-year-old, were arrested by Australian authorities in early March, were charged and then were handed over to police in Daru police.

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