Indonesian police in Riau Islands yesterday lowered its terror alert levels after it was satisfied that a bomb threat last week no longer posed any immediate danger to residents and visitors in the province.

The move follows police investigations that did not uncover any evidence to support the threat issued by a little-known local Islamic militant group called Kelompok Islam Insaf, said Riau Islands police chief Sambudi Gusdian.

In a chilling letter sent by local mail to the Singapore office of ferry operator Horizon Fast Ferry on July 4, the group threatened to strike popular tourist destinations such as Tanjung Pinang and the Nagoya Hill Shopping Mall in Batam, as well as key ports in Batam and Bintan this month.

The Singapore Police Force confirmed yesterday that a report about the letter has been lodged.

Brigadier-General Sambudi said that as part of police investigations, an intelligence officer from Indonesia has been sent to meet his Singapore counterparts to learn more about the case.

He added that the Riau Islands police have only a copy of the letter while the original remains in the hands of the Singapore authorities.

“We have asked the authorities in Singapore to keep us informed of the findings from their investigations, so we are now waiting,” added General Sambudi.

Police in Riau Islands had beefed up security at key installations and high-risk public areas after they were alerted to the bomb threat within days of Indonesia celebrating Aidilfitri last Wednesday.

More than 1,600 security personnel were deployed to places with crowds and a high concentration of foreigners, as well as seaports and the Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam.

Last week, on the eve of Aidilfitri, a suicide bomber had tried to attack a police station in the city of Solo in Central Java. A policeman was wounded when he successfully intercepted the suicide bomber, who died at the scene.

The police on Monday officially identified the attacker as Nur Rohman, a 30-year-old member of a local militant cell, who had learnt to build bombs from Bahrun Naim. Bahrun is an Indonesian militant believed to have been fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria militant group since last year.

The police said investigation into the Solo bombing is now closed after investigators established that Nur Rohman was working alone.

This article was first published on July 13, 2016.
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A Singaporean boat captain caught trespassing in Indonesia’s waters and charged with netting fish ilegally has been acquitted, after a local district court found inadequate evidence.

Indonesian prosecutors had demanded that Mr Choo Chiau Huat be jailed for two years, fined 1.5 billion rupiah (S$154,000) and have his vessel destroyed.

Presiding judge Jhonson Erson Fredy Siraitsaid at a court hearing on Monday in Tanjung Pinang that there was not enough evidence to find Mr Choo guilty, and he was “a free man”.

Mr Choo had seven Singaporeans and six Malaysians on board his boat when it was caught on April 16 in Tanjung Berakit waters, off Bintan island. All the passengers were deported about a week after their arrests.

Tanjung Pinang-based prosecutor Yuri Prasetyo had earlier told The Straits Times he was seeking the maximum penalty of eight years under the 2004 Fishery Law. The Attorney-General’s office in Jakarta lowered the sentence sought to two years.

Indonesia has taken a tough stance towards foreign fishing vessels caught trawling illegally.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has been widely reported by the local media for her strong commitment to protecting domestic fishermen.

Since October last year, her ministry has blown up and sunk 176 fishing boats captured from poachers who were later declared guilty by district courts. More than 30 illegal fishing boats will be blown up and sunk later this month.

But not all foreign vessels trespassing in Indonesia’s waters were involved in illegal fishing, argued Mr Herman Black, a lawyer representing Mr Choo.

Mr Black had earlier argued that Mr Choo’s case was a common, tourism-related trespass. He said his client was ferrying tourists to do recreational fishing within Singapore waters, but the boat drifted towards Indonesian waters.

The authorities had seized only 20 fish in total as evidence, Mr Black said, concluding that each person on board caught only one or two fish.

Mr Yuri said he will appeal against the acquittal. He will also appeal against releasing Mr Choo to return to Singapore. Doing so would interfere with the legal process, he said.

This article was first published on July 13, 2016.
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SYDNEY – China must accept a verdict declaring its South China Sea claims are invalid, Australia said Wednesday, and needs to halt its artificial island building in the disputed waters.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Beijing risked reputational harm if it ignored the ruling by the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration, on a case brought by Manila, which said China had no title to the waterway.

“We call on both the Philippines and China to respect the ruling, to abide by it. It is final and legally binding on both of them,” Bishop told national broadcaster ABC.

“This treaty, the Law of the Sea, codifies pre-existing international custom. It’s a foundation to maritime trade and commerce globally, and so to ignore it would be a serious international transgression.

“There would be strong reputational costs. China seeks to be a regional and global leader and requires friendly relations with its neighbours. That’s crucial to its rise.” Beijing claims most of the South China Sea, even waters approaching neighbouring countries, as its sovereign territory, basing its arguments on Chinese maps dating back to the 1940s marked with a so-called nine-dash-line.

But swathes of the sea are also claimed by other littoral states – including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei – as well as Taiwan.

After years of diplomatic headbutting, the Philippines took the case to the Hague-based PCA in 2013.

Reactions to South China Sea ruling

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Reuters, AFP

The tribunal’s ruling on Tuesday was a damning repudiation of Chinese behaviour in the South China Sea, which ruled that China has no historic rights to the area and had acted illegally with large scale land reclamation.

“Australia has been calling on China for some time to halt reclamation work and not to militarise its structures,” Bishop said.

“We certainly urge all parties to take steps to ease tensions, to refrain from provocative actions that would escalate tensions and lead to greater uncertainty.” The row has embroiled the United States, which has sent warships on so-called “freedom of navigation” missions through waters that carry one-third of the global oil trade.

Bishop said Canberra also reserved the right to sail ships and fly planes close to some of the reefs and islands claimed by China.

“As we’ve done for many decades, Australian ships and aircraft will continue to exercise rights under international laws of freedom of navigation and over-flight,” she said.

“We’ve already been doing that; we’ll continue to do it.”