9 Filipino militants to hang for waging war against Agong

PUTRAJAYA: Nine Filipino militants involved in the 2013 Lahad Datu intrusion were sentenced to death today for waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, chaired by Judge Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, allowed the prosecution's appeal against the natural life sentence handed down on the nine militants to a heavier punishment.
The nine are Julham Rashid, 70; Virgilio Nemar Patulada @ Mohammad Alam Patulada, 53; Salib Akhmad Emali, 64; Tani Lahad Dahi, 64; Basad Manuel, 42, the son of the late self-proclaimed Sultan Sulu Jamalul Kiram; Datu Amirbahar Hushin Kiram, 54; Atik Hussin Abu Bakar, 46; Al Wazir Osman @ Abdul, 62; and Ismail Yasin, 77.
The nine were also appealing against their conviction and sentence of natural life imprisonment by the Kota Kinabalu High Court on July 25 last year.
The prosecution had filed an appeal against the sentence for waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Section 121 of the Penal Code.
Other judges on the panel were Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli and Datuk Kamardin Hashim.
Mohd Zawawi said the militant attacks from a foreign country, which has never happened before, was meticulously planned and had also led to the death of nine members of the Malaysian security forces and many others injured while the villagers had to leave their homes.
He said the intrusion that occurred between Feb 12 and April 10, 2013, is a "cruel intrusion" and only a death penalty will be the reasonable punishment for the nine respondents.
All nine were represented by lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan while the prosecution team was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud.
In February 2013, more than 200 armed men dressed in camouflage attire and identifying themselves as the army of the defunct Sulu Sultanate laid siege on Kampung Tanduo, a village off Felda Sahabat 2 oil palm estate here, laying claim to Sabah.
After a stand-off for several weeks, Malaysian security forces eventually engaged with the militants.
The incident ended with the death of 56 militant, 10 Malaysian security officers and six civilians.