Abu Sayyaf militant jailed
KOTA KINABALU: A Filipino wanted in the Philippines was sentenced to 13 years’ jail by the High Court here yesterday after he pleaded guilty of being a member of the Abu Sayyaf militant group.
An active member of Abu Sayyaf since 2010, Masran Ajilul @ Anuar Mohamad Asnalul claimed to have fled to Malaysia to turn over a new leaf while two arrest warrants were issued against him in The Philippines for allegedly committing multiple attempted murders and kidnapping for ransom.
Justice Hj Alwi Hj Abdul Wahab passed the sentence on the 31year-old accused after he pleaded guilty as charged under Section 130KA of the Penal Code, which is punishable with imprisonment for life and a fine, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor from Putrajaya, Muhammad Fadzlan Mohd Noor, told the court that the unrepresented accused, who is now serving sentence for illegal entry into Sabah commencing from March 15, was re-arrested on the same day outside the Special Branch lockup compound at the Sabah Police Headquarters in Kepayan for being a member of the group which had been gazetted as a terrorist group since November 12, 2014.
The prosecution also said that five days after the accused’s arrest on March 20, an investigating officer of this case had sent a letter to the Philippines through its ambassador to check on the accused’s records at his country of origin.
When a reply was received by the police on March 26, it turned out that two warrants of arrest had been issued by a court in the Philippines for the said allegations against the accused.
Masran was also confirmed to be an active member of the Abu Sayyaf group in Basilan and had allegedly been assigned to look for kidnapping-for-ransom victims in the Zamboanga City areas.
The prosecution added that police were also informed that the accused is able to handle firearms and had been involved in several skirmishes with the Philippines army in southern part of the country.
The prosecution said the accused had made a statement that he is an Abu Sayyaf member since eight years ago and from 2016, he admitted to being involved in three battles with the Philippines army and had undergone firearms training using an M16 rifle in 2016.
In pleading for a lenient sentence, Masran told the court that he has a wife and four kids in the Philippines to support. He further said that he has repented and that was why he fled to Malaysia to turn over a new leaf, adding that his mother had borrowed almost 11,000 Pesos to pay for her journey to come to Malaysia to meet him.
In reply, the prosecution pressed for a heavier sentence as the offence committed involved acts of terrorism.