SHAH ALAM: The action of a skipper who rammed a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) boat, only caused his own boat to sink around 2.5 nautical miles west of Sungai Serdang Besar, Kapar, Klang yesterday.

Selangor MMEA director Maritime Captain Mohd Rosli Kassim said that the agency had detained 19 foreigners, including two Indonesian women, who were trying to leave the country illegally.

The 16 Indonesian men and a Pakistani man, aged between 20 and 45, were arrested during a joint patrol under 'Op Benteng Laut' when an MMEA Penggalang-class boat detected the presence of a boat moving suspiciously in the dark heading for the Malaysia-Indonesia border.

"As soon as the boat was intercepted for an inspection, the skipper acted aggressively and tried to escape by ramming Penggalang 41 (the MMEA boat), resulting in its own sinking at the location of the incident and all 19 passengers including the skipper fell overboard and nearly drowned.

"All the victims, however, were saved by the Penggalang 41 crew with the assistance of the police and the navy involved in the operation," he said in a statement today.

Mohd Rosli said the collision damaged the side of Penggalang 41, but no crew member was injured.

"The suspects were arrested, and 12 of them failed to produce any valid identification documents, while seven had passports with no official entry or exit stamps.

"The case will be investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for leaving Malaysia through ungazetted points and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (ATIPSOM) Act 2007. The detainees have been brought to the marine police force jetty to be handed over to MMEA investigating officers for further action," he added.

-- BERNAMA