ZAMBOANGA CITY, 18 August 2004 — Filipino naval seals rescued 7 Malaysian poachers after huge waves and string winds battered their trawler off the southern provice of Tawi-Tawi, officials said yesterday.
Captain Feliciano Angue, commander of the Philippine Navy’s anti-terrorist Task Force 62, said the Malaysians were rescued over the weekend and brought to Tawi-Tawi where they are facing criminal charges for illegal entry and poaching.
“The Malaysian fishing boat sank due to big waves and strong winds and we rescued the seven poachers and brought them to Tawi-Tawi where soldiers provided them blankets, hot food and coffee and clothes. They are now okay and they will also be charged for violating the Philippine maritime laws,” Angue told Arab News.
He said his group also intercepted last week three trawlers and arrested 11 Indonesians and two Malaysian fishermen paoching off the Philippines’ Taganak island near the Sabah border.
Angue said the poachers would all be charged for illegal entry and poaching. The identities of the foreigners were not disclosed, but they were handed by the military to the police in the Tawi-Tawi island group.
