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Captain Jailed Over Fatal Ferry Disaster
August 11, 2009

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The captain of a ferry that sank killing up to 335 people in January has been sentenced to nine years in jail, his lawyer confirmed on Tuesday.

The 700-ton Teratai Prima, with a registered capacity for only 250 passengers, capsized and sank rapidly in heavy seas whipped up by a tropical storm in the Makassar Strait on Jan. 11.

“The judge in Pare-Pare court in South Sulawesi sentenced Sabir bin Andae on Monday to nine years in jail because of negligence,” lawyer Muhammad Ridwan said.

“The judge said the number of passengers on the ferry exceeded its capacity and Sabir only had a license to operate vessels that weigh less than Teratai Prima.”

Far from going down with the ship, the captain was one of only 35 survivors of the tragedy, which occurred during darkness. He faced a maximum 10-year jail sentence.

Ridwan said his client would definitely appeal against the sentence.

“The judge also said that Sabir had failed to inform the passengers when the ferry was in trouble and about to sink. But it was hard for him to do that,” the lawyer said.

“We decided to appeal against the decision because we believe that the accident was force majeure [superior force] instead of negligence. It was like a lightning strike — people couldn’t get away.”

The disaster was the worst of its kind in the country since December 2006, when a ferry sank in a storm off the coast of Java, killing more than 500 people.

The Teratai Prima was en route from Pare-Pare to Samarinda in East Kalimantan when it was hit by large waves and capsized.

The precise number of people aboard was never determined and few bodies were recovered from the sea.

JG, AFP