A group of local fishermen lodged a police report after a verbal altercation with the Singapore Police Coast Guard (PCG).
The video of the incident has since gone viral online, and it showed the Singapore police seemingly trying to chase the group away with harsh words.
According to Bernama, Iskandar Puteri police chief Rahmat Ariffin said the incident took place in the Pasir Laba Area, near the Second Link Bridge in Iskandar Puteri at 5.30 pm on Sunday (23 October).
Meanwhile, he also advised the public not to make any speculations while the police are still conducting the investigation.
Meanwhile, Kota Iskandar assemblyman Datuk Pandak Ahmad has responded to the incident and he condemns the actions of the Singaporean authorities for using harsh words during the argument with the fishermen.
“It is regrettable as the fishermen were anchoring their nets within the nation’s waters in the Straits of Johor, while the Singaporean authorities were those who entered our borders illegally,” he was quoted as saying.
He also said that similar incidents have occurred a few times in the past but the local fishermen have choose to keep silent in order to avoid involvement.
Singaporean Police’s response
Meanwhile, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) denied the allegation and said the claims are totally untrue.
According to CNA, the SPF said their PCG officers were patrolling Singapore territorial waters when they spotted the group of Malaysian fishing vessels entering and exiting the live firing area of Singapore’s territorial waters off Lim Chu Kang.
The police added that unauthorised vessels are strictly prohibited from entering the live firing area for safety reasons.
Thus, the PCG officer approached the fishing vessels and use their public address system to advise them to leave the live firing area in Singapore territorial waters.
It was reported that the group of Malaysian fishing vessels then approached the PCG officers to “expressed their unhappiness at being asked to leave the area”.
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