KOTA KINABALU – A 42-year-old non-citizen was sentenced to six months’ jail after admitting to providing false information to police at the Lahad Datu magistrates’ court, today.
Based on the charge sheet, the man was accused of lodging a fake police report on a group of armed men allegedly infiltrating Lahad Datu via the waters off Tambisan at the Cenderawasih police station around 7.54pm on February 3.
The individual, only identified by authorities as Ben, was charged under Section 182 of the Penal Code for giving false information with intent of causing a public servant to use his lawful power to cause the injury of any person.
Magistrate Ryan Sagiran Rayner then sentenced the man to six months in prison and referred him to the Immigration Department for deportation upon completion of his sentence.
In the fake report lodged by Ben, he indicated the arrival of 13 armed men in military fatigues believed to be from the southern Philippines in Long Patau, Tambisan.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Idris Abdullah said, in a statement related to the case, that the man had created unnecessary worry and anguish for the public.
Police, he said, had found out that the report was fake during subsequent investigations on February 5.
“The report was lodged to create the impression that his home was unsafe to attract the attention of security personnel.
“His action had to do with a personal issue, whereby his marriage did not get the blessing of family members, and he had hoped the police report would end harassment from his wife’s family,” he said.
Bernama reported on February 3 that the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) was probing into the allegations.
The case also gained the attention of Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who had called the authorities to leave no stones unturned over the alleged intrusion.
In 2013, Sabah experienced the Tanduo standoff, in which 235 militants infiltrated Sabah via Lahad Datu.
They had called themselves the Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo sent by Jamalul Kiram III, one of the claimants to the Sulu Sultanate throne.
Their aim was to assert the unresolved territorial claim by the long defunct-sultanate over eastern Sabah. – The Vibes, February 9, 2022
