Lankan smuggler jailed in Australia
An Australian Court sentenced a Sri Lanka born refugee to more than
five years in prison yesterday for helping to smuggle nearly 200 asylum
seekers to Australia in a leaky boat.
Sydney spice shop owner Pathmendra Pulendren, 36, pleaded guilty this
month to acting as an agent for an Indonesia based Sri Lankan who
arranged the passage of 20 Tamil Sri Lankan men in a boat from Malaysia
to Australia in June last year.
Pulendren, who came to Australia by boat in 2007 as a Tamil asylum
seeker, alerted police to the voyage when he discovered that 194 Tamils
were to make it.
"He told police that he believed that the vessel was overcrowded and
feared for the safety of the people on board," Judge Robyn Tupman said
as she sentenced Pulendren to five years and six months in prison.
People smuggling carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Pulendren must serve at least three years before he is eligible for
parole.
An Australian navy patrol intercepted the asylum seekers and their
wooden boat near Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian
Ocean, Tupman said. The boat was found leaking and unseaworthy.
Pulendren was to be paid $40,000 for his work, which included
collecting money from asylum seekers' relatives in Australia, according
to the Judge.
AP |