Authorities in Kandal province arrested four Vietnamese fishermen illegally trawling Cambodian waters on Friday but failed to catch several others with them, according to a local police chief.
Seng Kimkhurn, the province’s economic crimes bureau chief, said on Sunday that more than 50 officers from various agencies descended on the intruders, who were fishing on a local lake in Koh Thom district.
He said the Vietnamese numbered more than 10 and were operating at least as many boats but the authorities managed to catch only two boats and the four fishermen on board. They also released the 1,200 kg of fish on the boats and burned their nets.
“The others escaped with their fast boats,” he said.
Mr. Kimkhurn said the provincial police handed the four over to local immigration officials on Saturday. Lim Vandy, who heads the province’s immigration office, said on Sunday that the fishermen would have been merely deported if their only offense was illegal entry.
Instead, he said: “We will send the Vietnamese nationals to court tomorrow because they crossed the border to fish illegally on Khmer territory.”
