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Public advised to remain calm over kidnapping incident BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

Public advised to remain calm over kidnapping incident

Posted: 06 May 2014 11:58 AM PDT

by Azmie Lim, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on May 7, 2014, Wednesday

LAHAD DATU: The people are advised to remain calm and not to panic over the kidnapping of a fish farm manager at Pulau Baik, yesterday morning.

District police chief Assistant Commissioner of Police Shamsudin Mat said this was an unexpected incident and the public should not worry about it.

He said the security forces would increase and tighten security in the district.

Meanwhile, the fish farm owner Datuk Lo Fui Ming said he was shocked after hearing about the incident from his workers.

He expressed hope the security forces would increase security control for economic development as fish farm business attracted many entrepreneurs.

A survey on the situation in Lahad Datu found that everything was calm as in a normal day. Its transportation system was also operating as usual.

Earlier, a 34-year-old man identified as Yang Zailin was abducted from his room at the fish farm quarters about 2.45am yesterday.

He was kidnapped by six armed men who fled the scene using a boat. This is the second kidnap case following the recent incident at Singgamata resort in April.

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Yet another kidnap in Sabah waters

Posted: 06 May 2014 11:56 AM PDT

Chinese national managing cage fish breeding company taken captive by 5 gunmen

KOTA KINABALU: Five gunmen abducted a Chinese national manager of a cage fish breeding company in Pulau Baik, Lahad Datu early yesterday, just over a month after a female Chinese national was abducted from a resort off Semporna, highlighting the security challenges Sabah faces.

The masked men, dressed in camouflage fatigues and brandishing M-16 high-powered rifles, grabbed Yang Zai Lin, 34, in the incident which occurred at 2.45am.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said Yang, from Guangzhou, China had been working with the Chinese-owned fish breeding company, Wonderful Terrace Sdn Bhd, since three years ago.

He said the company had been in operation since 2006.

Based on initial investigations, Hamza said three of the five gunmen wore only shorts and the group had earlier arrived in a 200HP speed boat.

"They escaped with the Chinese national after threatening a female worker in Bajau dialect.

"We were alerted on the incident at 2.53am and deployed three marine boats to chase the abductors," said Hamza.

He said security forces from the air and marine units tried to corner the getaway boat before a shootout with the abductors – believed to be from southern Philippines – occurred in the high seas about 6.20am near Pulau Mataking.

"The abductors escaped into international waters through the Alice Reef Waters.

"Our security forces tried to chase the abductors right up to the Philippine border waters but they ceased for security reasons as soon as the abductors entered the Saluag village in Pulau Sibutu," he added.

Hamza said following the incident, the police detained 19 people in Lahad Datu to facilitate investigations.

Eleven of them were of Suluk ethnicity while the rest were Indonesians.

He said only nine of them possessed valid travel documents.

The case is investigated under Section 365 of the Penal Code and Section 4 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, which provides for life imprisonment and six strokes of the rotan upon conviction.

Police believe the gang of abductors could be one of several groups which kidnapped for ransom.

They were also trying to determine whether the group which pulled off the abduction yesterday morning was involved in last month's Singamata kidnapping.

Last November, suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen kidnapped a Taiwanese couple holidaying in another Sabah resort.

The husband was killed during the abduction while the wife was freed after being held for 36 days on the main Sulu island of Jolo.

A ransom is believed to have been paid.

The eastern part of Sabah — whose pristine dive sites are a top tourist attraction — has seen several kidnappings despite increased security.

Meanwhile, Datuk Yong Teck Lee, former chief minister of Sabah, blasted security forces for their failure to secure the area and warned that it will hurt Malaysia-China relations.

"It is a huge embarrassment to our security machinery as it happened very deep inside Malaysia's territorial waters. The damage (in Malaysia-China ties) will be compounded further," he said. — Agencies

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NGO calls for stronger security measures against kidnappers

Posted: 06 May 2014 10:27 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Pakatan PRO BN yesterday called for stronger measures to be taken to tighten security and effectively address the rampant kidnapping in the waters of east coast Sabah.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) said the federal government need to expedite the placement of the proposed additional personnel and assets from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah to combat the increasing abduction activities in the state.

Its president, Zulkarnain Mahdar, said the presence of all security agencies, namely, the navy, military, marine police and the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency must be optimized immediately to stop armed bandits from the southern Philippines from continuing to sneak into Sabah to kidnap tourists.

"Do not take lightly the kidnapping issues in Sabah," said Zulkarnain in a statement issued after another Chinese citizen was kidnapped in tourist-thronged Lahad Datu early Tuesday.

The latest kidnapping brought the tally to three cases, not including the two major foreign tourist kidnappings that happened before the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) was set up last year.

The 2.45 am incident took place not long after pirates reportedly raided and robbed fishermen in Tanjung Labian in the same district late Sunday evening.

Adding insult to injuries, the incident happened when security was supposed to be tighter than usual, as Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and US Marines Corps Forces Pacific's (MARFORPAC) commanding general Lt Gen Tery Robling were scheduled to visit ESSCom.

"This shows how badly the federal government need to mobilize the ministry involved to multiply security assets in Sabah. Massive census and whitening operations against illegal immigrants must also be intensified, particularly to flush out sympathizers and those behind these kidnappings.

"The use of a satellite is also needed to monitor vessel movements, especially in the waters off Lahad Datu and Semporna. Send helicopters and fighter jets too to regularly comb the area and monitor closely all the 'laluan tikus' (secret routes) often used by immigrants to sneak into Sabah.

"Direct participation from the public in maintaining security should also be given more serious attention. Residents and village committee should be activated and be involved in ESSCom for intelligence gathering. Everyone needs to come together as now is not the time for blaming and pointing fingers.

"All parties, including the opposition, should contribute and give constructive views towards addressing this problem and not simply riding on the issue to attack the government," said Zulkarnain.

He added that the state government must be seen as committed to resolving the issue by continuously pushing for enhanced security measures to be taken by the federal authorities concerned.

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Intruder’s corpse found 14 days later at Kpg Tanjung Batu

Posted: 06 May 2014 10:26 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The body of an intruder shot dead by a team leader of the Royal Armoured Corps, Fourth Regiment on March 6 was found burnt 14 days later in Kampung Tanjung Batu, Lahad Datu, the High Court here heard yesterday.

Major Mohd Nasir Aziz said the body was found in a burnt down house, from where he saw the intruder shooting in his direction on March 6.

However, no weapon was found on the body, he said.

"The house was burnt down. So, I don't know what happened to his weapon," he said in response to counsel Datuk N. Sivananthan during cross examination.

Sivananthan: Shouldn't a weapon have been found with the body?

Mohd Nasir: I'm not sure.

Sivananthan: Do you agree with me that what you saw (on March 6 last year) was a man holding something that looked like a weapon?

Mohd Nasir: I disagree.

According to the army officer, he did not extract the body from the house, but was in the area when VAT69 Commando Superintendent Abdul Rani Alias went to collect the body.

"The body was brought in a three-tonne truck. I was seated in the front seat," he said.

Thirty accused comprising 27 Filipinos and three local residents are on trial, with some facing multiple charges of being members of a terrorist group or waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, recruiting members for a terrorist group or willfully harbouring individuals they knew to be members of a terrorist group.

They allegedly committed the offences between Feb 12 and April 10 last year.

The hearing before Justice Stephen Chung at the Sabah Prisons Department continues today. — Bernama

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No freeze in NT land conversion to CL status — Minister

Posted: 06 May 2014 10:26 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang has assured property developers that the state government currently has no policy to freeze the conversion of Native Title (NT) land to Country Lease (CL) status.

"As long as property developers follow the procedures and comply with all the required terms and conditions, they can still apply (to convert NT land to CL).

"I personally think that we should not have this restriction as it will affect our property development industry," Teo said after meeting Sabah Housing and Property Developers Association (Shareda) committee members led by its president Francis Goh Fah Sun here, yesterday.

At the same time, Teo opined that freezing the conversion of NT to CL titles would impact on the price of residential properties, particularly when available lands are scarce nowadays.

He said the restriction was contrary to the government's effort in encouraging the construction of more affordable homes.

On another note, Teo applauded Shareda's commitment in building 10,000 units of affordable homes as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Teo believed that the banking industry in Sabah should play its role to allow more first time buyers to own a home.

"We can build a lot of affordable homes but if the requirements for housing loans are too stringent, all these efforts would be in vain."

Also present at the courtesy call were Shareda deputy president Chew Sang Hai, vice president Dato' Ir John Chee Shi Tong, treasurer-general Wesley Chai, council members Sr Chua Soon Ping and Ar Ronnie Ang.

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KK heatwave expected to end in mid-May or early June

Posted: 06 May 2014 10:25 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The abnormal heatwave that citizens here have been constantly complaining about lately is expected to end by the middle of this month or early June.

Director of the Meteorology Department, Abdul Malik Tusin, disclosed that the unusual heat wave citizens in the west coast and most rural parts of Sabah are experiencing is the inter-monsoon season, which would have ended by now under normal circumstances.

"Normally, the inter-monsoon season is in transition between the northeast monsoon season and the southwest monsoon in May or June and lasts until the month of September.

"The season would normally bring about rain and thunderstorm in the afternoons. However, this year we expect the inter-monsoon season to end later than normal, probably by the middle of May or early June," said Abdul Malik, when contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday.

Nevertheless, he said, it will be dry season all over again once the inter-monsoon season ends.

On the other hand, he added, the current heat wave that people are lamenting about is not the worst in the state's climate history as there is still rainfall, albeit in certain areas only and sporadic.

Abdul Malik advised the public to limit outside activities, as the temperatures can reach a considerably high level.

"For Kota Kinabalu, the normal temperature for this season should be 32 to 33 degree Celsius, but had reached 35 degree Celsius in the past few days.

"Hence, it is advisable for the public to stay in as much as possible and to limit outside activities while waiting for the season's transition," he said.

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