KOTA KINABALU: A nephew of the self-styled Sulu Sultan Jamalalul Kiram III was among 10 people charged at the Tawau High Court for waging war against the king in relation to terrorism activities committed during the Lahad Datu intrusion.
Datu Amirbahar Hushin Kiram was among eight Filipino nationals who were charged at the High Court that sat for the first time at the Tawau prison complex yesterday.
Amirbahar was accused of waging war against the Yang DiPertuan Agong under Section 121 of the Penal Code that carries the death sentence and being a member of a terrorist group under Section 131(k)(a) of the same Act that carries a life imprisonment sentence.
The other Filipino nationals who similarly charged were Rijmal Salleh, Saidili Jaharul, Dani Ismail, Pabblo Alie, Mohamad Ali Ahmad, Basil Samiul and Rizman Gulan.
They were accused of committing the offences between Feb 9 and April 10 at various locations including Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu, Kampung Muanad at Beluran in Sandakan and Jalan Lihak-Lihak, Semporna.
Meanwhile, 46-year-old local woman became the first female to be charged for terrorism related activities in connection with the Sulu gunmen intrusion in Lahad Datu.
Norhaida Ibnahi was accused of harbouring a group of terrorists at an unnumbered house at Kampung Sri Melor at Bugaya in Semporna between Feb 9 and March 22 this year and faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Another local man, Abdul Majil Jubin, 41, was also charged for waging war against the king and being a member of terrorist group. Both offences were alleged to have been committed in Semporna between Feb 9 and March 13.
All 10 were charged before Justice Ravinthran Paramaguru with Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail leading the prosecution team.
No plea was recorded from any of the accused and Ravinthran fixed June 7 for the cases to be mentioned.
Following the proceeding, Gani informed the media that the cases of another 14 Filipino nationals and a local man who were also charged for terrorism related activities were heard before Ravinthran who also fixed June 7 for them to be heard again.
Malaysia has detained more than 300 mostly Filipino suspects in recent on suspicion of having been informants for the clansmen and other offenses, including unlawful possession of weapons and illegal entry into Sabah.
ReplyDeleteThe prime minister said the time had lapsed to consider the demands of the intruders who claim to be members of the royal army of the Sultanate of Sulu in the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteThe Malaysian government was firm in the matter because the crime committed by them was most serious
ReplyDeleteReiterating Malaysia's strong stand against terrorist activities, Pak Lah was quoted saying "our stand has been repeated clearly and frequently we will not tolerate any form of terrorism." This quote mirrors back to the stand of all Malaysians to renounce terrorism in any form.
ReplyDeleteHe also added that in order to let the FDI increse, We must be firm and fast in our response before terror breeds within our midst
ReplyDeleteThus, we will must continue to be vigilant and monitor against any forces that intend to destablise peace and harmony in the country
ReplyDeleteThe act of intruding another country's border illegally is a breach of law and might be given no chance of escaping death in a more aggresive coastal defence countries.
ReplyDeleteThe self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his army may soon face a myriad of criminal charges in the Philippines once the bloody standoff in Sabah is officially over, including charges for inciting war, illegal possession of firearms and illegal assembly.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a report on ABN-CBS News today, the Aquino administration has instructed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to prepare “airtight” cases against Jamalul and his royal army, who are still in a gunfight with Malaysian security forces in Lahad Datu.
ReplyDeleteThe report said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told a press conference this morning that the order from President Benigno Aquino III has already been conveyed to the NBI by the government’s principal law agency, the Department of Justice (DOJ).
ReplyDelete“The instruction of president is: Prepare airtight charges ... the priority, of course, is to file the case here in the Philippines.The focus now is on the NBI’s investigation... the government’s priority is to determine the charges and to gather evidence and identify charges on violation of Philippine laws. So that is what we are doing,” she said.
ReplyDeleteThe news report said that De Lima had earlier announced that the Kiram family may be charged with “inciting war or giving motives for reprisals” under Article 118 of the country’s Revised Penal code, apart from the “illegal possession of firearms, violations of the election gun ban and illegal assembly”, among others.
ReplyDeleteAfter facing charges in the Philippines, the Sultan and his men may be hauled to Malaysia for more punishment, De Lima reportedly said, once the DOJ studies laws here and in the Philippines on the possibility of extradition.
ReplyDelete“They have also violated Malaysian laws... we will study (the extradition) but our priority now is the filing of cases here. We have no extradition treaty with Malaysia but there might be some mechanism so that will be included in the study,” De Lima said.
ReplyDeletePhilippine President Benigno Aquino III said his government prefers to punish Jamalul and his men in the Philippines first before extraditing the self-styled Sulu Sultan to Malaysia to face charges for the armed rebellion in Sabah. The president said in a report on ABN-CBS News that the Philippines has no extradition treaty with Malaysia but there are other mechanisms that may permit extraditing Jamalul, such as the mutual legal assistance treaty in force under ASEAN.
ReplyDelete“From my perspective… let our citizens here in the country face the charges that we will be (preparing) first then we will talk about other developments after they have satisfied the requirements of our laws,” Aquino was quoted as saying on the Philippine media network’s website this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteMalaysia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman suggested yesterday the possibility of seeking the extradition of Jamalul, whose “royal security force” of over 200 soldiers have been leading an armed standoff in Lahad Datu, Sabah, since February 9.“The group’s leader has made statements that have incited anger and hatred. Does the Philippines have laws to bring him to justice? If not, maybe we will ask the Philippines to hand him over to us.
ReplyDelete