Indonesia accuses Chinese fishing company of mistreatment

Text by: RFI Follow

In Indonesia, the discovery of cases of ill-treatment close to slavery on board Chinese fishing vessels made the headlines of the country's newspapers. After the deaths of four Indonesian youths who died after several months of inhuman conditions, Indonesia has asked China to account for these acts and is concerned about the extent of the phenomenon.

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With our regional correspondent in Kuala Lumpur ,  Gabrielle Maréchaux

The case arrived with a video. We see on a boat a human body surrounded by an orange sheet being thrown overboard. It was Ari, 25, a young Indonesian sailor. And before Ari, today discovers Indonesia, this same fishing vessel has reserved a similar fate for two other young fishermen aged 19 and 24. This macabre discovery came when the boat docked at the Korean port of Busan.

On Korean TV, an Indonesian on board the crew reports a ordeal that resembles modern slavery with 18-hour work days, drinking water reserved for Chinese supervisors who only leave subordinate Indonesians the only possibility to drink sea water, wages largely retained, passports confiscated.

If this boat assured to fish only for tuna, photos tend to prove that it also practiced the trade of shark fins, illegal and supervised practice which could explain why it did not dock when crew members were sick.

Fearing that these stories were not isolated, Indonesia asked the UN Human Rights Council to be vigilant about the abuses of the fishing industry.

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• Indonesia
• China