8 men sentenced to 3 years in jail for enslaving fishermen

AMBON, Indonesia -- Five Thai fishing-boat captains and three Indonesians were sentenced Thursday to three years in jail for human trafficking in connection with slavery in the seafood industry.

The suspects were arrested in May in the remote island village of Benjina after the abuse was revealed by The Associated Press in a report two months earlier. The men were tried separately in Tual, an island in southeastern Maluku province, about 1,800 miles east of Jakarta.

The three-judge panel also ordered the defendants to pay fines of about $12,250 each or serve two more months in jail. In addition, the Thai captains -- Youngyut Nitiwongchaeron, Boonsom Jaika, Surachai Maneephong, Hatsaphon Phaetjakreng and Somchit Korraneesuk -- have to pay a total of $67,800 in compensation to their crew members.

"They all have been proven guilty of violating the anti-human trafficking law," said Edi Toto Purba, who led the panel. "They deserve the jail sentences as well as the fine."

He gave one week for the prosecutors, who had sought heavier sentences, as well as the defendants to appeal the verdict. Indonesian prosecutors had demanded prison sentences of up to 4 1/2 years for the five Thais and Indonesian Hermanwir Martino, and 3 1/2-year sentences for two other Indonesians, Yopi Hanorsian and Muklis Ohoitenan.

They also demanded compensation ranging from $3,750 to $26,000 for the crew members.

Thirteen fishermen testified under protection of Indonesia's Witness and Victim Protection Agency.