CALAPAN CITY, Philippines – Twelve Chinese fishermen found guilty of illegally fishing in Philippine waters have started serving time in Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan.
In its website, the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park said Puerto Princesa City Regional Trial Court Branch 51 had found the fishermen guilty of violating Republic Act 10067, the Tubbataha Act of 2009, last Aug. 5.
The Chinese skipper was sentenced to 12 years in prison and the 11 Chinese crewmen were each sentenced to 10 years.
Each of them was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine to the government.
Filipino authorities caught the Chinese in April 2013 after their boat ran aground on Tubbataha Reef.
The fishermen were found carrying a cargo of pangolins, an endangered mammal similar to an anteater.