Eight men have been arrested and charged over their alleged involvement in the illegal sale of marine gas oil (MGO).
The men, who are all Indonesian, were apprehended after Police Coast Guard officers discovered that some crew members may be involved in the illegal distillate marine fuel trade during a routine inspection of a vessel registered in Singapore on Friday, October 10.
The officers arrested multiple crew members from both vessels and intercepted a foreign tugboat as a result of the discovery.
Achmad Junaedi, 29, Fajar Seeng, 41, and Ahmad Fairus, 36, were each charged on Saturday, October 11, with stealing 8,000 liters of MGO that were kept aboard a ship registered in Singapore.
The MGO was valued at approximately S$6,917, according to the police.
According to charge sheets, Fairus, Junaedi, and Seeng worked for Hiap Shing Shipping.
Sutrisno Bogimin, 61; Heriadi, 33; Mion Gosjen James, 54; Satria Mahardika, 24; and Suriyanto, 49, are charged with receiving the stolen MGO while in Singapore's territorial waters aboard a Tanzanian-registered ship.
They were each charged with dishonestly receiving stolen property on Saturday.
According to preliminary investigations, the crime was committed near the sea off Tuas on October 4 at approximately 8 pm.
Fairus, Junaedi, and Seeng are charged with selling the stolen MGO to the Tanzanian-registered ship's crew.
As part of the investigations, the foreign vessel was seized.
On October 17, all eight men will appear in court after being placed under remand pending additional investigations.
Employees found guilty of criminal breach of trust face a maximum 15-year jail sentence and a fine. Receiving stolen property dishonestly carries a maximum five-year jail sentence, a fine, or both.
The police stated in a statement on Saturday that they take illegal MGO transactions within Singapore's territorial waters seriously.
"The authorities will continue to conduct enforcement and security checks to prevent, deter and detect such illicit activities in Singapore waters," said the police.
