Monday, January 31, 2011
The seven, dressed in orange overalls and handcuffed behind their backs, arrived at Port Klang south of Kuala Lumpur and were taken under heavy security to a police marine base, an AFP reporter saw.
They were then transported in a convoy of 12 vehicles to a police station, before being taken to a hospital where some 50 police with automatic weapons stood guard outside the emergency department.
The alleged pirates all looked young, aged in their teens or twenties, and had no obvious injuries. They appeared calm as they filed into the hospital before a large media contingent, each guarded by two police officers.
"They are now being transported to a remand centre" in the capital Kuala Lumpur, a senior officer in the convoy told AFP.
Authorities had said the pirates would arrive in Malaysia on board the rescued tanker MT Bunga Laurel, which along with its crew of 23 was seized on January 20 in the Gulf of Aden, the focal point of Somali piracy.
The chemical tanker was headed to Singapore with a cargo of lubricating oil worth more than $10 million when bandits armed with AK-47 assault rifles boarded and took control of the ship.
Malaysian naval commandos, who were manning a vessel protecting shipping in the area along with a navy attack helicopter, responded to the distress call and captured the pirates after a brief firefight.
Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi said last week that the pirates would be handed over to police for "further action" but Malaysian legal authorities are reportedly studying how to deal with the seven.
A day after the Malaysian raid, the South Korean navy captured five Somali pirates during a mission to rescue a hijacked ship. On Sunday they were brought to South Korea and formally arrested.
South Korean maritime police have formed a special team officials to deal with the country's first legal attempt to punish foreign pirates.
Source: AFP