An infamous people smuggler known as "Captain Bram" - who was accused of organising an asylum seeker boat trip that made international headlines when Australian officials allegedly paid its crew to return to Indonesia - has appeared in an Indonesian court.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Abraham Louhenapessy, aka Captain Bram, was on Wednesday indicted in the Rote Ndao Court on people smuggling charges. He allegedly purchased a fishing boat and organised logistics for a boatload of asylum seekers to travel to New Zealand in 2015.
The case was dubbed the "cash for boat turn-back scandal" after Australian officials intercepted the boat and allegedly paid $US32,000 to the captain and five crew members to return 65 asylum seekers to Indonesia.
Captain Bram is facing between five and 15 years' jail. He was not one of the crew members allegedly paid by the Australian officials.
According to the indictment, in 2015 Captain Bram was given 1.5 billion rupiah ($150,000) by a Sri Lankan people smuggler known as Kugan or Vishvanathan Thineshkumar.
He was told to purchase a fishing boat to carry asylum seekers to New Zealand, fix the boat and organise logistics for the trip.
The indictment says the boat was purchased in Tegal Sari in Central Java and then Captain Bram instructed another man to recruit a captain and crew.
Between February and April 2015 Kugan and two other men assembled 65 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar to make the arduous journey to New Zealand.
The asylum seekers, who included three children, paid about $6000 each for the trip.
Court documents say the boat, Andika, left Tegal in Central Java. The crew were stopped by Australian customs and shown a brochure that said: "You can't enter Australia without a proper visa and documentation".
Two days later the boats was again stopped by Australian authorities and its passengers detained for interrogation.
In June 2015, Fairfax Media revealed an Indonesian police investigation had found the crew of the boat were paid $US32,000 by Australian authorities to return the 65 asylum seekers to Indonesia.
"Since they received money from Australian customs, then it's proven that (the captain and crew) made a profit from another party," said presiding judge Ari Wahyu Irawan in January 2016 when sentencing the captain, Yohanis Humiang.
The cash payment scandal caused a diplomatic incident between Indonesia and Australia and led to a Senate inquiry and calls for a Royal Commission.
The explosive revelations were never denied by former prime minister Tony Abbott, who said the Australian government stopped the boats "by hook or by crook".
The Australian government issued a release when Captain Bram was arrested in September last year, congratulating the Indonesian police.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said at the time that Captain Bram had a long history of criminal people smuggling targeted at Australia, starting as far back as 1999.
"Cooperation with Indonesia is essential in shutting down the people smuggling trade, together we remain committed to stamping out people smuggling, and preventing people risking their lives," Mr Dutton said.
