KUALA LUMPUR – Police have denied carrying out any bomb detonation or disposal activity in the state today, following the earth-shattering sound and tremors felt by residents in several places in Sabah and Labuan this morning.
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani confirmed this when contacted.
“I have checked with the Sabah police chief (Datuk Hazani Ghazali), and no detonation has been made.
“It is possible that the explosion was caused by activities involving the petroleum industry. Maybe you can check with Petronas,” he said.
Acryl Sani said police so far have not received any report from residents regarding the incident, adding that they are investigating the cause of the explosion and tremors.
Residents around the Sipitang and Beaufort districts in Sabah and Labuan were startled at about 11am today, claiming to have heard a loud explosion and tremors lasting about 10 seconds.
The Royal Malaysian Navy said the alleged incident has nothing to do with the Borneo 1/21 military exercise it had conducted.
According to its spokesman, the exercise – aimed at testing the readiness and agility of its assets in East Malaysia – was carried out on Thursday.
“Negative. (The explosion and tremors) was not caused by the Navy, as the Borneo Military Exercise took place on January 28,” he said via a Whatsapp message.
Earlier, Beaufort police chief Azmir Abdul Razak dispelled allegations made by netizens that the loud noise and tremors were caused by an operation to dispose of a bomb discovered in Labuan recently, saying that the exercise had been carried out yesterday. – Bernama, January 31, 2021
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