9 men charged for alleged illegal sale of 400 litres of marine gas oil

SINGAPORE — Nine Indonesian men were charged in court on Tuesday (June 19) for their alleged roles in illegally selling and buying 400 litres of marine gas oil, valued at about S$315.

The men, aged between 21 and 56 years old, were arrested by the Police Coast Guard (PCG) on Monday.

The PCG had received information that a foreign-registered tugboat and a Singapore-registered vessel were believed to be involved in the illegal sale of marine gas oil at the sea off Selat Pauh Anchorage. The Selat Pauh Anchorage is located off Pulau Sudong near Jurong Island.

Four crew members of the Singapore tanker Cleanseas Mokara were each charged with one count of criminal breach of trust as a servant. They were Gigih Suherno, 24, Japar, 53, Sutrisno, 41, and 54-year-old Wahyu Sugiarto.

They were employed by Golden Island and Diesel Oil, which provides marine fueling and support services.

According to court documents, they allegedly misappropriated the marine gas oil without their company’s knowledge at about 12.10am on Monday, and sold it to five crew members of the foreign-registered tugboat Bonito. The tugboat has since been seized for investigations.

If convicted, they face a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine.

The five crew members of Bonito were charged with engaging in a conspiracy to dishonestly receive stolen property. They are Dody Noldy Beslar, 44, Farri Uhise, 21, Yance Mudea, 39, Andris Corneles Pangandaheng, 56, and Alfian Ferikka Tawera, 41.

They face a maximum jail term of five years and a fine if convicted.

The nine men have been remanded for further investigations and will appear in court again next Tuesday.

Last month, the Indonesian captain of a Singapore-registered tugboat was jailed for seven weeks for selling stolen marine gas oil belonging to his employer, East Marine, to crew members of a Belize-registered tugboat.

The PCG also arrested 15 men aged between 25 and 60 last month for their involvement in the illegal transaction of marine gas oil at the sea of Sultan Shoal lighthouse.

Eight crew members of the Singapore-registered vessel had allegedly misappropriated 1,000 litres of MGO and sold them to the crew of a foreign-registered tugboat.