SEMPORNA: The Marine Police Force (PPM) foiled an attempt by 16 Filipinos who were attempting to sneak into the country on a pump boat in waters off Terusan Silapak near here, early today.
Sabah Region 4 Marine Police commander ACP Mohamad Pajeri Ali said his men detected the boat’s movement from the neighbouring country at 12.30am.
“Checks on the boat found 16 individuals comprising 10 men and six women in their 30s to 50s.
“The skipper and the passengers claimed to be from Simunul, Tawi Tawi in the southern Philippines. Also, the passengers claimed to have paid a certain amount of money to the skipper for their trip to Semporna,” he said in a statement, here today.
Mohamad Pajeri said a further search also found Philippine currency as well as personal items of the passengers and the skipper.
“The total value of the seizure was RM11,490, and the case is being investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (2007),” he added.
On the same day, he said PPM had also nabbed five men without valid documents in an operation in the village of Pulau Mabul near here at 11:30pm.
Mohamad Pajeri said all the suspects, aged between 22 to 53 years, were found behaving suspiciously and tried to flee upon realising the presence of the authorities.
“However, their attempt failed, and those detained were then taken to the Semporna PPM Operations Centre for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/1963,” he added.
Meanwhile, he also confirmed the arrest of 45-year-old man from the Palaú community, believed to have used explosives to fish in waters of Tobo Tobo here at 9.30am on Monday.
“Checks on the suspect’s boat found 14 kilogrammes of different types of fish, as well as fish bomb equipment,” he said.
He explained that the total value of the seizure was estimated at RM3,940 and the case is being investigated under Section 26 (1) of the Fisheries Act 1985. - Bernama
