Singapore police (SPF) have denied news reports alleging one of their patrol boats entered Malaysian territorial waters and damaged a fishing net laid by a Malaysian vessel.
On Wednesday, it was reported that four Malaysian fishermen held a press conference in which they claimed that an SPF coast guard boat damaged a fishing net they had laid at the Tebrau Straits area, near the Second Link bridge on Monday.
They had filed a report at the Iskandar Puteri police headquarters on Tuesday.
In a statement, SPF said their boat was patrolling Singaporean territorial waters when it spotted a Malaysian fishing vessel at the sea off Tuas, the western region of Singapore.
According to SPF, there were other fishing vessels in the vicinity but they were in Malaysian waters.
“The police coast guard engaged the fishermen on board the fishing vessel in our waters and advised them to leave,” SPF said.
“After the engagement, a fishing net became entangled with the propellers of our boat, when it was reversing to try to avoid entering Malaysian waters.
“The fishing net was subsequently damaged in the process of untangling it from the propellers.”
SPF said they were merely enforcing Singaporean laws within its borders.
It also pointed out that the same fisherman was involved in a similar incident in October 2022, when he was advised to leave a live firing area for his own safety.
SPF said the fisherman had at the time also falsely claimed he was in Malaysian waters.