FOLLOW THE LAW, GUN OWNERS TOLD
Those who don’t risk having their weapon seized, licence revoked, says cop
KEDAH police yesterday warned firearm owners to adhere to the regulations or risk their weapon being seized and licence revoked.
State Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Mior Farid Al Atrash Wahid said they should keep their weapons in a safe place and not let others handle them.
He said firearms should be kept and handled carefully as they could pose danger not only to others, but also the owners.
Describing the fatal shotgun mishap involving an 8-year-old girl in Pokok Sena on Wednesday as a tragic incident, Mior Farid said it could have been averted had the adults been more careful when handling firearms.
“Children may not understand the consequences of toying with a firearm, so it is the duty of adults to make sure that the weapon is kept in a safe place.
“In this case, the boy, 15, had no intention of hurting his niece but it happened due to weapon owner’s negligence.”
He advised licence holders, especially senior citizens who were no longer fit to handle firearms, to surrender their licence and firearm to the police.
“Some of them might think that it is not a big deal for them to allow their children or relative to handle the weapon since it is licensed when it is in fact illegal and dangerous to do so.”
He was commenting on the incident on Wednesday, which claimed the life of Puteri Intan Sharini Mohd Hishamuddin Azmi.
She was watching television at home when her teenage uncle accidentally discharged the shotgun owned by the victim’s greatgrandfather.
The victim sustained injuries to her left cheek and died at the scene.
Following the incident, police obtained a week-long remand order against the minor and his father, 50, for investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, beginning Thursday.
Kota Setar police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Rozi Jidin was quoted as saying that the weapon was not properly kept and could have been easily accessed by the minor.
He said police probe showed that the minor’s father had no licence to handle the weapon.
The incident was the second gunshot mishap in the state this year after a 12-year-old girl was hit 13 times by stray shotgun pellets at her home in Kampung Lubuk Keriang, also in Pokok Sena, in April.
The victim, Nur Syahida Bakar, was having dinner with her family when stray pellets shot by her neighbour, who was hunting for birds, struck her.
Following the incident, a padi farmer Mohd Asri Said, 51, was fined RM3,000 in October after he pleaded guilty to two charges of illegal possession of a rifle and firing a shot which injured the victim.
The court also ordered him to pay RM5,000 in compensation to the victim.