VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Bambang Soesatyo has called upon the police to conduct a thorough investigation of the alleged ill-treatment of an Indonesian crew working on a Chinese fishing vessel.

The two Indonesians managed to flee by jumping into the sea to avoid further physical abuse aboard the ship.

"The police should conduct an investigation of the alleged abuse of Indonesian crew members on the Chinese ship, and along with the Foreign Affairs Ministry file a lawsuit if there is evidence of abuse," Soesatyo, popularly known as Bamsoet, said in a statement in Jakarta on Monday.

The police, he continued, should summon the manning agent that recruited the two sailors. The agent could be charged with possible fraud since the two crewmen, based upon their work contracts, were to be sent to textile and steel plants in South Korea and paid Rp25 million to Rp40 million per month.

"There is an indication of illegal recruitment of sailors, hence the agent must be held accountable for the case," he said.

The government must improve the monitoring of Indonesian migrant workers and be more selective in issuing working permits for Indonesians recruited as migrant workers. The government should take serious measures against irresponsible recruitment agencies.

Furthermore, he warned all Indonesians not to be easily persuaded by invitations to become migrant workers offering tempting wages.

People should carefully check an agency's legality, he said.

The two Indonesian sailors, Reynalfi (22) and Andri Juniansyah (30), who worked on the Chinese-flagged ship Fu Lu Qing Yuan Yu, jumped into the sea when the ship entered Indonesian territory in the Malacca Strait on Friday (June 5) night.

They were saved by fishermen in the Karimun Anak Island waters in Riau Islands Province on Saturday (June 6) after drifting at sea for almost seven hours.

The two Indonesians claimed they had been abused while working aboard the Chinese ship. (ANTARA)