Sabah Most Wanted

Lahad Datu trial to end on July 25

Tight security at the entrance of Kepayan prison during the Sulu gunmen trial in Kota Kinabalu on Monday. - NORMIMIE DIUN/The Star

KOTA KINABALU: The 30-month trial of the 14 people accused of various charges in connection with the Lahad Datu village intrusion will end on July 25.
The accused including a Malaysian will know their fate when High Court judge Justice Stephen Chung delivers his judgment over two days from that day. 
Justice Chung fixed those dates after hearing submissions here from Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar and defence counsel Datuk N. Sivananthan and Abdul Ghani Zelika on Monday. 
The charges against the 13 Filipino nationals were framed under Section 121 of the Penal Code for waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Section 130E for recruiting persons to be members of a terrorist group. 
The other charges were under Section 130K for harbouring persons committing terrorist acts and Section 130KA for being member of a terrorist group. 
Among the 13 were Atik Hussin Abu Bakar, Basad Manuel, Habil Suhaili, Timhar Hadil and Ismail Yasin. Habil died in April. 
Others were Virgilio Ne-Mar Patulada @ Mohammad Alam Patulada, Basil Samuel, Salib Akhmad Emali, Al Wazir Osman @ Abdul,Abd Hadi Mawan, Tani Lahad Dahi, Julham Rashid, Datu Amirbahar Hushin Kiram and Norhaida Ibnahi, the sole female accused. 
The Malaysian on trial with them was Abdul Hadi Mawan who was charged under Section 130KA of the Penal Code for being a member of a terrorist group. 
All the charges were in connection with the armed intrusion of the seaside village of Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu in February 2013. 
In his submission, Sivananthan argued that the evidence in court during the course of the trial showed there were grounds for the acquittal as there were doubts in the prosecution’s case. 
He said there were discrepancies in the transcripts of the recorded telephone conversations of the accused. 
Sivananthan, who represented the 13 Filipino nationals, said the prosecution also failed to link the telephones allegedly used by some of the accused by not producing the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of these devices as part of the evidence. 
He said confessions given by most of the accused to a Sessions Court judge soon after their arrests three years ago was consistent in that they were tricked into coming into Sabah during the intrusion led by Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of the self-styled Sulu sultan. 
“They were duped into coming to Sabah with false promises of identity cards and jobs. When they got here and realised something was amiss, they were prevented from leaving,” Sivananthan said. 
Earlier, Mohd Dusuki said the evidence adduced in court showed that the accused knew what they were doing in Sabah. 
He said the accused also played a role in facilitating the skirmishes with Malaysian security forces personnel in Tanduo and Semporna between February and March, 2013. 
“The accused claimed that they were cheated into coming to Sabah for a job and to get Malaysian documents but their actions suggest that they knew what they were here for,” Mohd Dusuki said. 
“They came to Malaysia to wage a war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the government of this country” he added. 
Mohd Dusuki said no matter how minor the role the accused played in the intrusion, they nevertheless should be held equally responsible for the incident.