An Indonesian man on trial for people smuggling over a boat that was turned back in July says Australian Border Force personnel didn't give him cash, only a satellite phone and fuel.
Mohammad Jabar and Dahrani, both 25, are accused of agreeing to a payment of 35 million rupiah ($3440) for agreeing to take 25 people to Australia.
Their wooden boat was intercepted on July 25 and, according to Amnesty International research, all were detained on a Border Force ship for seven days before being sent back on a different boat.
But unlike the case of a boat turned back towards Rote in May, it attracted little attention, and it seems no money was involved.
Amnesty International, which produced a report after interviewing some of the passengers, raised questions about a new bag given to the Indonesian fishermen crewing the boat back.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Jabar says they were handed a new bag, but "it wasn't money".
"It was only navigation tools and a satellite phone," he said outside his trial near Kupang, West Timor, on Tuesday.
In court, some of the passengers - who are from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar - told of how they joined the voyage.
Through a translator, Bangladeshi man Malmun Alwez said he paid 25 million rupiah to get from Bangladesh to Malaysia and was then asked to pay 50 million rupiah to reach Australia.
Prosecutor Jhon Franky says Jabar, a fisherman, only received 5 million rupiah of the promised payment from his recruiter, Bobi, from the same town of Sinjai, Sulawesi.
"Bobi is still on the run and already on the police wanted list," he said.
According to Amnesty International, the one passenger from Myanmar is a Rohingya woman.
The trial continues, along with the trial on nearby Rote island of six Indonesian men who claim they pocketed more than $US30,000 ($A41,400) from an Australian official before turning back with their boat of asylum seekers in May.
