Dhaka: Five Burmese prisoners in Bali, Indonesia, have appealed to the Burmese embassy there to help them safely return home, but the embassy has yet to respond to their request, according to a report.

The five were arrested by the Indonesian coast guard in mid-2008 soon after they had jumped overboard from an Indonesian fishing boat they had been forced to work on.

According to a source close to them, they were sold to the Indonesian fishing boat operators by Thai human traffickers. They had been handed to the Thais by Burmese traffickers at Myawaddy, the town opposite Thailand's Mae Sot.

The men had failed to pay 1,300 baht to the Burmese traffickers in Myawaddy after Thai police had arrested them and forced them back across the border. When they were unable to pay the asking price of the Burmese traffickers, they were handed over to the Thai traffickers who sold them.

When they arrived at the fishing boat, the owner forced them to work non-stop and sometimes tortured them. They were not always given enough food and went hungry, according to the account.

They eventually escaped from the boat by jumping into the water. Another fishing boat eventually rescued them and transferred them to the Indonesian coast guard.

Since then, they have been detained in a prison on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Among the five men are three Arakanese who have been identified as Maung Shwe Than and Aung Tha Kyaw from Kyauktaw, and Aung Kyaw Naing from Ponna Kyunt in Arakan State.

The other two men are ethnic Burmese and have been identified as Aung That Pai from Thaninthaye Division and Maung Win Aung from Irrawaddy Division. All are around 20 to 30 years of age.

According to a source, the Burmese embassy does not typically take action on such cases, but they are still anxiously awaiting a response.

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