A Chinese scuba diving instructor has been detained in Indonesia after a video allegedly showing him spearing a critically endangered hawksbill turtle in Raja Ampat circulated on social media.
The man, who has been identified as Wei Shang, was stopped at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar on Monday, 14 September, following a request from Raja Ampat’s local government to prevent him leaving Indonesia.
Makassar immigration chief Abdi Widodo Subagio said officers received the request that afternoon and checked the passenger manifest before preventing his departure.
Subagio said arrangements were being made to return Wei Shang to Raja Ampat on Tuesday, 15 September. Conservation authorities said he would be taken to Sorong for further investigation. Shang has reportedly denied any involvement.
The case concerns a 36-second video allegedly showing a diver using scuba equipment and aiming a speargun at a turtle resting beside a coral reef in the Fam Islands, near Piaynemo.
Other images allegedly uploaded by Shang to Chinese social media purportedly show the animal cooked and served as food.
All six turtle species found in Indonesian waters are protected under national legislation, and spearfishing of any kind is illegal in Raja Ampat’s marine protected areas. Hawksbill turtles are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The incident is believed to have occurred between 9 and 11 September near Piaynemo in the Fam Islands (also known as the Pam Islands) in Southwest Papua, when Wei Shang was reportedly visiting the area.
The footage circulating on social media prompted other divers and instructors in Indonesia to locate him and report him to the authorities.
Members of the Mansaur Marine Park Indigenous Community Patrol (Meos Mansar) submitted a complaint to airport police after receiving information that he was in Makassar.
They asked officers to locate and question him, and offered documentation to support an investigation, listing photographs of the alleged spearfishing and the turtle that had been killed and cooked among the supporting material.
Raja Ampat deputy regent Mansyur Syahdan subsequently sent immigration officials a formal request to prevent his departure.
The local government’s request identified Wei Shang as holding an AIDA International instructor-trainer qualification, with a certification date of 18 August 2015 and a card marked ‘Active 2025’.
He is also listed by various media outlets as an inactive SSI React Right Instructor Trainer (SSI’s first aid course), however, a pro-check on his instructor ID lists him as an active status Master Instructor, Freediving Instructor and Mermaid Instructor Trainer.
Hasan Makassar, head of Raja Ampat’s marine conservation management unit, said his staff were coordinating with police and immigration authorities over the case.
He called for a transparent investigation, including examination of the animal’s species, the location and the method used to capture it.
Makassar said the authority had previously warned tourism operators about guests bringing spearguns into conservation areas, and would now be investigating local homestays and operators to check for compliance in the area where the alleged incident took place.
Mohammad Rais, owner of Diver’s Camp Sultra in Southeast Sulawesi, said his group had coordinated with divers in an effort to have Wei Shang stopped and the allegations investigated.
‘An instructor should set an example in diving ethics, rather than display behaviour that endangers protected wildlife,’ said Rais.
The video as shown in the X post below is widely circulating on social media. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
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