Village Cheema (Jagraon), December 11, 2019: Parents of Jagbir Singh, a 31-year-old merchant navy officer, have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to get their son released from custody in China, where he is being held since July 16 this year.
According to Jagbir’s parents, he joined merchant navy in 2009 and travelled to many countries. However, he landed in trouble when he joined a company named Marvin this year. On his first assignment his ship was stopped and boarded by Chinese officials, who arrested Jagbir and for the last five months he is in their custody.
Jagbir’s father said he joined Marvin for better promotion prospects as this would have ensured a secure future.
He was sent to China and was told that all the necessary documents pertaining to the vessel would be handed to him at the next port. But before the ship could reach there, it was intercepted by Chinese officials who took over the ship as it lacked proper documentation and arrested Jagbir and five crew members.
However, the five crew members were released later. Jagbir’s family tried to contact his employers but they have refused to listen to them.