Vietnamese crewman to be deported after jumping from ship in Albany and sparking urgent police operation

Vietnamese national Ho Anh Dung will be deported after jumping from a bulk carrier ship and sparking an urgent police search in Albany. The 37-year-old was given a partially suspended prison sentence of six months and one day in the Albany Magistrate's Court today. He pleaded guilty to failing to comply with emergency management quarantine directions. He is expected to spend another nine days in prison before he is transferred to a detention facility pending deportation. Dung was wearing a face mask and gloves as he appeared via video link from Albany Regional Prison this afternoon. Through an interpreter, he told the court he jumped off the Sakizaya Champion at 4am on Saturday in a bid to improve his financial situation. He took a life jacket and a bag of belongings, leaving the ship undetected by his fellow crew members. He had been at sea for four months. In Albany on Saturday, Dung bought a TransWA ticket for a bus trip to Perth which was scheduled to depart at 3pm on Sunday. A father of two young children in rural Vietnam, he planned to seek employment in WA. Police prosecutor Sergeant Dave Loverock said it was with the “grace of good luck” that Dung did not have COVID-19 because he attended several locations in Albany. Sgt Loverock said Dung visited McDonald's, Office Works and 1849 Backpackers. Through his interpreter, Dung said he was worried about how his family would survive without his income. But Magistrate Diane Scadden said he made a deliberate choice and showed “flagrant disregard” for the risk of COVID-19 community transmission. “The fact you bought a bus ticket to Perth demonstrates further risk that the virus could have extended community transmission beyond this regional area,” Ms Scadden said. “We need to make sure others know it’s the wrong thing to do. “In this time the need for community safety is paramount and any other person who attends WA waters, there are serious consequences if you jump ship.”