A series of alleged hijackings of Thai trawlers by Cambodian troops has spurred a pledge by a Thai regional governor to protest to Cambodian officials, The Bangkok Post reported Thursday.
About 50 members of Trat province’s Anchovy Fishing Group urged provincial Governor Phathai Wijarnpreecha to protest to Koh Kong Governor Rong Plamkesan after accusing Cambodian officials of encroaching on Thai soil, capturing four boats and demanding a total of $52,000 ransom, the Post reported.
Group officials told the newspaper that pirates seized a boat April 25 and released it after it paid the equivalent of $30,000.
On the way back, the boat was seized again by fishery officials who demanded the equivalent of $5,200, the Post quoted group members as saying.
The governor, urged on by four Thai provincial councilors, said he would file a letter with Phnom Penh after trawler operators filed a report with local police, according to the Post’s report.
