Malaysian police intercepted phone conversations of personalities related to the standoff in Sabah earlier this year—including those of two relatives of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, a Malaysian court was told on Tuesday.
A Kuala Lumpur-based Special Branch administrative assistant testified about the intercepted calls which she was tasked to listen and translate, Malaysia’s The Star Online reported.
The administrative assistant was testifying at the trial of Detective Kpl Hassan Ali Basari, who was charged for withholding information relating to terrorist acts.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Kota Kinabalu High Court heard that the personalities whose calls were intercepted included those of Datu Amir Bahar and Raja Muda.
Amir Bahar is reportedly a nephew of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III while Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram is the sultan’s brother. Agbimuddin led Kiram’s followers to Sabah.
Kiram’s followers had engaged Malaysian forces in a three-week standoff that ended in deadly clashes on March 1 and 2. The deadly clashes led Malaysia to mount offensives against Kiram’s followers.
The report said Malaysian police had been intercepting the phone calls of Hassan after a group of people wearing camouflage uniforms were spotted at Kampung Tanduo, a remote coastal village in Lahad Datu, last February.
When questioned by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Nordin Hassan, the administrative assistant said she had listened to calls between Datu Amir Bahar and Raja Muda.
"Asked by Nordin to read out the transcript of the recording dated Feb. 25, the administrative assistant said Datu Amir Bahar said he came to know from Hassan who was a policeman that the authorities will go in at midnight. Raja Muda took note and said they were prepared," the Star Online report said.
In another conversation between Hassan and a male, the administrative assistant said Hassan asked the male if all those who had entered were Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) soldiers.
The male caller supposedly responded they were mixed, including soldiers of the sultan.
Large boat
Meanwhile, Felda auxiliary policeman Lans Korp Mohd Ali Asmali told the court he and fellow auxiliary policeman Sharizan Shadek had gone fishing off Tanduo on Feb. 11.
He said that at about 2 a.m. of Feb. 12, they heard the engine of a large boat locally known as a 'jongkong.' He said the vessel came in from the open sea and after while headed back in the same direction.
Mohd Ali said they continued fishing until about 6:30 a.m. As they headed back to shore, they saw about 100 people wearing camouflage uniforms near the Tanduo beach.
Some of the men wore red headbands while others wore white songkok with red armbands, he said.
Mohd Ali said they landed their boat some 50 meters from the village and rushed home before going to the police station near the Cenderawasih township at the Felda area.
He said he and Sharizan had to wait until about 4 p.m. before they could lodge their police report.
Important phone calls
Meanwhile, Senior Assistant Commissioner Zulkifli Abd Aziz said Hassan had not raised any warnings about any terrorism acts by the Kiram followers.
Zulkifli now heads the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) intelligence unit.
He also said he met Agbimuddin thrice, but Agbimuddin supposedly rejected his advice to leave Sabah.
Zulkifli recalled Azzimudie telling him that he would only retreat from Sabah if ordered by Sultan Kiram.
He also recalled telling Azzimudie at their meeting on Feb. 16 that “bloodshed could occur" if they refused to leave Sabah.
After that meeting, Zulkifli said he had proposed to Sabah police to drop leaflets urging the Kiram followers to surrender.
The leaflets would have also served as safe passage for the Kiram followers so long as they lay down their arms and turn themselves in to Malaysian security forces, he added.
Witness: Cops tipped off about Kiram followers' planned entry to Sabah in January
Sabah police were tipped off as early as January 2013 about the plan of followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III to sneak into Lahad Datu, a witness told a court handling the case on Monday.
The witness, a fish vendor, said he told Kpl. Hassan Ali Basari, 55, about a "possible intrusion" after hearing 1,500 Kiram followers were planning to claim their ancestral land, according to a report on Malaysia's The Star Online.
"I told him that they were four tempel (boats) that will enter Lahad Datu," the Star Online's report quoted the witness as saying.
Hassan is among 31 people charged in court for various offenses related to the Sabah incident.
The report said the witness overheard a group of people wearing orange-striped "Royal Sulu Force" overalls speaking about the plans when he was selling fish at Bongao.
He said he told Hassan not to take the information lightly, and to inform his senior officers about the supposed plan.
Kiram's followers engaged Malaysian forces in a three-week standoff last February. The standoff ended in March 1 and 2 with deadly clashes.
In turn, the clashes prompted Malaysian forces to stage offensive operations to flush out Kiram's followers.
Kpl Hassan
The witness told the court that when he returned to Lahad Datu from Bongao, he looked for special branch officers Insp. Yusri or Syazwan but both were not available.
He then met with Hassan at an ice cream shop in Lahad Datu to relay his finding.
Not guilty
Hassan, a special branch police detective, pleaded not guilty to an amended charge of withholding information on terrorist activities before the Kota Kinabalu court.
High Court Judge Ravintharan Paramaguru is handling the case.
If found guilty, Hassan may be jailed for seven years, or fined, or be slapped both penalties.
But prosecutors said they will show evidence the accused had a good relationship with the Sulu sultanate and had been in contact with Datu Agbimuddin Kiram, the leader of the Royal Sulu force.
Police maintained high security during the hearing, conducting body scans on people entering the court premises and also before entering the courtroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.