Chinese nationals

The men, who appeared yesterday in the Port Vila Supreme Court, also made not guilty pleas to charges of fishing having unstowed fishing gears.

The 14, who are crew members on two fishing vessels, Dong Gan Xing 13 and its sister ship, Don Gan Xing 16, were arrested by a maritime police patrol boat in Vanuatu's north in January.

They were spotted by a French military plane which alerted Vanuatu maritime authorities.

A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for June the 4th.

The six Chinese travellers were returned to Nadi from Samoa aboard a Fiji Airways flight for not meeting the self-quarantine requirements at Apia Airport.

Health official Sunil Chandra said the group tested negative for coronavirus and posed no threat to the public.

However, Mr Chandra could not confirm whether the group had been sent home or allowed to remain in Fiji due to restrictions imposed by the Chinese government at its borders.

Samoa's new emergency measures require travellers to undergo medical clearance at least three days before heading to the island.

Citing police sources, the Daily Post newspaper reported the group were released from police custody on Friday and transferred to a motel.

The paper had earlier said Chinese law enforcement officials had helped Vanuatu police with the arrests in Port Vila.

The Vanuatu government is finalising their deportation and in the meantime paying for their accommodation expenses.