KOTA KINABALU: The police are still investigating whether a report claiming that nine fishermen were allegedly kidnapped by 20 armed men for several minutes before being released by their kidnapers near Pulau Kapalai on Tuesday, is link to the Sulu terrorists.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib said police are in the process of recording statements from the alleged hostages.
“The police are still investigating the case as well as to determine if the alleged suspects are involved in terrorism activity.
“They are also trying to establish if the suspects are from a neighboring country,” he said when met at the Royal Malaysia Police Hari Raya open house at the state police headquarters in Kepayan on Wednesday.
Present at the event were Head of State Tun Panglima Juhar Mahiruddin and his consort Toh Puan Norlidah R.M. Jasni, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman, cabinet ministers, senior police officers and personnel.
Elaborating on the incident which happened between 6.30pm and 9pm on August 27, Hamza also confirmed that there were no shooting incidents despite the report claiming that a group of men were armed with firearms.
“Initial police investigation showed that the suspects had robbed the fishermen of their money, handphones and several items.
“None of the victims were harmed by the suspects and were released by the suspects after robbing them,” he said, adding that the case is currently being investigated under Section 395 of the Penal Code for gang-robbery and Section 4 of the Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) 1971.
Hamza also urged the public not to panic following the incident as security forces are on high alert in defending the sovereignty of the country.
“Almost every island, including Semporna has security forces under the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) to guard the area and its surrounding areas,” he said.