Malaysia court upholds Pinoys’ death sentence
ZAMBOANGA CITY: Malaysia’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for 9 Filipinos who were charged with waging war against the Malaysian King during the 2013 assault on Lahad Datu in Sabah.
The Filipinos have been identified as Julham Rashid, 70; Virgilio Nemar Patulada, 53; Salib Akhmad Emali, 65; Tani Lahad Dahi, 64; Basad Manuel, 42; Datu Amirbahar Hushin Kiram, 54; Atik Hussin Abu Bakar, 46; Al Wazir Osman, 62; and Ismail Yasin, 77.
Chief Justice Md Raus Sharif said the January 15 decision of the five-man panel of the Federal Court was unanimous, according to reports by The Star and Asia News Network.
The other judges were Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Maarop, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjun, and Justices Ramly Ali and Azahar Mohamed.
Basad Manuel is the son of the Jamalul Kiram 3rd, the self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, who died from multiple organ failure in Manila in 2013. The bloody incursion by some 200 followers of Kiram from the southern Philippines in February 2013 was inspired by the supposed sultan’s claims of historical dominion over Sabah.
The two- month siege was the most serious security crisis faced by Malaysia in years, involving armed conflict between the Sultan’s loyal followers and the Malaysian armed forces sent to root them out.
The panel also dismissed the prosecu- tion’s appeal against the acquittal of 14 men on the charge of waging war against the king and terrorist-related offences linked to the intrusion from Feb 12 to April 10, 2013, the reports further said.
Chief Justice Md Raus said the panel has no reason to decide otherwise and affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered last June.
At the height of fighting between Kiram’s followers and security forces, Malaysia deployed armored vehicles and combat helicopters, including naval boats in an effort to flush out the Filipinos on the oil-rich island being claimed by both sides.
About a dozen armored personnel vehicles arrived in the town of Lahad Datu to support ground troops hunting down at least 50 members of the Sultanate of Sulu headed by Raja Muda Agbimuddin, the sultan’s younger brother.
The group invaded Sabah in February 2013 to exert claim over the area, prompting Malaysia to launch a massive assault on about 200 of the sultan’s men following a deadline for them to surrender peacefully. The assault by Malaysian jets and ground artilleries left at least 62 intruders dead, but the fig hting between the two groups also killed and wounded 18 Malaysian policemen and soldiers.
Malaysia is still paying cession money to the Sultanate of Sulu although it lays claim on Sabah, a gift given by Brunei to the Sultan of Sulu for helping quell a rebellion in 1658. c