Fishermen escape unhurt in shooting ordeal

KINABATANGAN: A skipper and a crew of four escaped unhurt after being shot several times by five armed men on a boat in the waters off Segama, near here yesterday.
Kinabatangan police chief Supt A. Sahak Rahmat said in the police report received, the incident had reportedly occurred at 4.30pm when the fishermen, aged between 19 and 48, were towing in their trawl in the area that was located 11 nautical miles from Kuala Segama.
He said, the five men who were dressed in black, attempted to close in to the fishermen's boat and one of them had signalled to the fishermen to stop their boat. However, when the skipper did not stop their boat for fear of their safety, one of the suspects began shooting at them and they were forced to hide in the engine section of the boat.
A.Sahak said the skipper then instructed his crew to cut the net to enable them to move faster.
After releasing several shots, the assailants left the fishermen.
Following the incident, the owner of the fishing boat lodged a police report on the incident at 12.43am on the same day at the Sandakan Police Station and further investigation was carried out. — Bernama