ALOR STAR – Kedah police are not ruling out the possibility that the individual who shot a General Operations Force (GOF) officer on duty at the Malaysia-Thailand border near Bukit Kayu Hitam yesterday is a member of a smuggling syndicate.
State police chief Datuk Hasanuddin Hassan said this is because the incident occurred at a location along a known smuggling route.
“The route is frequently used by smugglers to enter Malaysia, and for smugglers here to enter (Thailand)... We always remind our personnel at the border to be on alert, as personal safety is of utmost importance.
“We do not know when we might fall victim to those who are unhappy with the presence of law enforcement here (at the border),” he told a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here today.
Asked about the latest development regarding the officer who got shot, Hasanuddin said he has not received further information.
“We will leave it up to his superior as he is under GOF... but usually, if he had been on duty last night, today (he) would rest, but whether he can carry out his duties as usual, that I am not sure.”
In the 6.15pm incident, the 26-year-old officer, who was on patrol, sustained light injuries after he was shot at using an air rifle.
Hasanuddin yesterday said the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the incident, but the bullet from the air rifle grazed an exposed part of his abdomen.
The incident took place a day after a shoot-out at the border that saw GOF officer Sergeant Baharuddin Ramli, 54, killed, and his colleague, Sergeant Norihan Tari, 39, seriously injured. – Bernama, November 26, 2020
