KOTA KINABALU: A police corporal told the High Court here yesterday that he fired warning shots to the ground about 200 metres from Kampung Tanduo to deter the Sulu gunmen from moving towards the snipers’ point.
Commando Balin Anak Senow, 33, told Justice Stephen Chung that he received instruction from Inspector Rosli Wahab to fire shots after he saw seven to eight gunmen at the distance of 600 metres approaching the snipers’ point at the kongsi house.
Balin, who is a member of the Malaysian snipers placed at the rumah kongsi to observe the gunmen’s daily activities, noticed the gunmen approaching about 8.40pm on March 3, 2013.
To a question under examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed, the 16th witness said that on March 1, 2013, before the skirmish, he heard several gunmen shouting ‘hoi’ repeatedly and something else in a language that Balin could not understand.
“Then at about 10am, I saw seven to eight gunmen, who were on the track at Kampung Tanduo, came out carrying weapons to the left side of the snipers’ point,” he recalled, adding that afterwards he heard guns being fired intermittently.
He testified that the sounds of gunfire were from the three areas of responsibility assigned to Malaysian VAT 69 commandos.
Balin further said that he and the other snipers then fired shots at the gunmen on the track and one of them was noted lying motionless.
The witness also testified that security forces had dropped leaflets a day after last year’s March 1 skirmish at Kampung Tanduo.
Balin, who was assigned to conduct an observation of Sulu militants who had invaded the village, said about 5.30pm on March 2 last year, he heard a Royal Malaysian Police helicopter flying over Kampung Tanduo, and saw it dropping white A4 size papers.
He said the papers reached the house where he and his team were stationed throughout the operation.
“Did you have the opportunity to look at the white A4-size papers?” asked Abdul Wahab.
“Yes. Corporal Sharil Afiza Zahari showed a copy of the paper to us,” replied Balin.
During cross examination by counsel Datuk N. Sivananthan, the 33-year-old corporal told the court he could not remember what he saw on the paper shown by
Sharil Afiza, but remembered the word ‘Warning’ written on it.
Sivananthan: Do you recall if the other words were in English or Bahasa Malaysia?
Balin: I cannot remember.
When shown two documents from two separate earlier exercises to drop off leaflets at the village, Balin said they were not similar to the one he saw on March 2.
Meanwhile, Sharil Afiza, the prosecution’s 17th witness, told the court he had collected two sheets of the white A4-sized papers dropped by the police helicopter on March 2.
He said the papers had reached the house where he, Balin and other VAT69 personnel were stationed to conduct an observation of the village.
“I showed them (papers) to team members,” he said.
The witnesses were testifying against the 29 accused persons, including the nephew of the late self-styled Sulu Sultan III, Datu Jamalul Kiram, believed to be the man behind the intrusion incident at Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu.
The accused persons were alleged to have committed acts of terrorism at several places in Lahad Datu, Semporna and Sandakan areas between February 12 and April 10, 2013.
The trial is held at a hall doubled as an open court at the Kepayan prisons compound here under tight security by the prison and police personnel. It continues today.