Two fishermen jailed for turning off tracking devices

On October 27, the People's Court of An Giang province opened the first instance trial of the criminal case and sentenced two defendants, Nguyen Nhat Linh, to 4 years in prison and Tran Quoc Nam to 3 years in prison for obstructing or disrupting the operation of computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic devices, as prescribed in Point e, Clause 2, Article 287 of the Penal Code.

Court scene.

Nguyen Nhat Linh was born in 1982, residing in Hung Yen commune, An Bien district, Kien Giang province (now An Bien commune, An Giang province); Tran Quoc Nam was born in 1997, residing in Tay Yen commune, An Bien district, Kien Giang province (now Tay Yen commune, An Giang province).

According to the indictment, fishing vessels numbered KG-90937-TS and KG-90143-TS were owned by Truong Van Duong, born in 1975, residing in My Hiep Son commune, Hon Dat district, Kien Giang province (now My Thuan commune, An Giang province), and were directly managed and operated at sea to exploit seafood.

On February 15, 2024, fishing boat KG-90937-TS with 14 crew members captained by Nguyen Nhat Linh and fishing boat KG-90143-TS with 2 crew members captained by Tran Quoc Nam departed through the Kenh Dai Border Control Station of Tay Yen Border Guard Station.

Both fishing boats are equipped with electronic devices to monitor fishing vessel journeys. Linh is in charge of the operations of the two boats.

The two defendants heard the verdict.

Because fishing in Vietnamese waters was not profitable, at about 7:48 a.m. on May 17, 2024, Linh used a magnet to turn off the journey monitoring device on the KG-90937-TS ship and directed Nam to turn off the journey monitoring device on the KG-90143-TS ship to control the two ships to sail through Malaysian waters to fish.

After a period of fishing without turning on the journey monitoring device, the Coast Guard Region 4 discovered and asked Linh and Nam's fishing boats to return to Vietnamese waters.

At approximately 4:34 p.m. on May 21, 2024, both were arrested by Coast Guard Region 4. On May 20, 2025, Nam and Linh were prosecuted.

News and photos: NH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/phat-tu-hai-ngu-phu-tat-thiet-bi-giam-sat-hanh-trinh-a465204.html