Good looking, devout and down to earth Jasprit Singh Chawla has been in a Korean prison for the last thirteen months. Nominated by Lloyds last year for the “Shipmaster of the Year” award for his heroic efforts during the oil spill, the captain of Hebei Spirit which inadvertently caused a huge oil spill off Taen county, South Chungcheong Province, has been imprisoned despite one of the lower courts exonerating him of any blame for the damage.
His wife, Gurpreet Kaur has been running from pillar to post, single-handedly looking after her children and meeting her husband at the cold cells of the Cheongju Detention Center.
The chief officer of the ill-fated ship –Shyam Chetan, is also in the same prison, though they are not allowed to talk with each other in the high security jail where they are let out for one of the 24 hours in the whole day.
In December 2007, a crane barge broke free from one of the barges towing it and ran into the side of the Hebei Spirit, which was at anchor, which caused tons of crude oil to flow into the sea. The incident is seen as an environmental disaster, which has affected tourism and fishing.
In the first instance a court had cleared Jasprit Singh and his officer but later an appeals court sentenced them to a year and half on charges of negligence.
Surving on plain rice, vegetarian Jasprit Singh’s health is deteriorating but he maintains a character of steel with the support and richness of his abiding faith in God, his Sikh way of life and his reading habit.
But he points out that conditions in the are much better than in Daejeon, where they were originally held. There was no heating in Daejeon and the cell was barely larger than a single bed.
Like Gurpreet Kaur, the wife of Syam Chetan and his father, Commodore DR Syam are also engaged in bestirring the Indian bureaucracy and others to take steps to quicken the release of the beleaguered seamen.
Though the Indian embassy claims that they are trying to do their best, surely they are not doing enough as Jasprit continues to survive on rice and water.
Maritime organizations, including The International Transport Workers Federation are shocked at the developments. Dehradun-based Uttarakhand Sikh Federation has sought immediate intervention of the Prime Minister’s office and would be petitioning the Korean embassy in New Delhi to take up the case in right earnest and ensure justice, though Manjit Singh Chawla, the father of Jasprit Singh has rued that so far nothing has been forthcoming from the PMO.
It is learnt that international Sikh advocacy and human rights groups are contemplating meeting Korean authorities over the matter in the coming days.
13 January 2009
His wife, Gurpreet Kaur has been running from pillar to post, single-handedly looking after her children and meeting her husband at the cold cells of the Cheongju Detention Center.
The chief officer of the ill-fated ship –Shyam Chetan, is also in the same prison, though they are not allowed to talk with each other in the high security jail where they are let out for one of the 24 hours in the whole day.
In December 2007, a crane barge broke free from one of the barges towing it and ran into the side of the Hebei Spirit, which was at anchor, which caused tons of crude oil to flow into the sea. The incident is seen as an environmental disaster, which has affected tourism and fishing.
In the first instance a court had cleared Jasprit Singh and his officer but later an appeals court sentenced them to a year and half on charges of negligence.
Surving on plain rice, vegetarian Jasprit Singh’s health is deteriorating but he maintains a character of steel with the support and richness of his abiding faith in God, his Sikh way of life and his reading habit.
But he points out that conditions in the are much better than in Daejeon, where they were originally held. There was no heating in Daejeon and the cell was barely larger than a single bed.
Like Gurpreet Kaur, the wife of Syam Chetan and his father, Commodore DR Syam are also engaged in bestirring the Indian bureaucracy and others to take steps to quicken the release of the beleaguered seamen.
Though the Indian embassy claims that they are trying to do their best, surely they are not doing enough as Jasprit continues to survive on rice and water.
Maritime organizations, including The International Transport Workers Federation are shocked at the developments. Dehradun-based Uttarakhand Sikh Federation has sought immediate intervention of the Prime Minister’s office and would be petitioning the Korean embassy in New Delhi to take up the case in right earnest and ensure justice, though Manjit Singh Chawla, the father of Jasprit Singh has rued that so far nothing has been forthcoming from the PMO.
It is learnt that international Sikh advocacy and human rights groups are contemplating meeting Korean authorities over the matter in the coming days.
13 January 2009
With thanks : WSN Bureau, Photo Courtesy: The Korea Herald
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