Sabah raid: KL upholds death sentences for 9 Pinoys

KUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysian court yesterday upheld death sentences handed down to nine Filipinos in connection with a 2013 incursion into the Malaysian part of Borneo island by Filipino fighters seeking to stake an ancient claim.

The incursion by the fighters from Mindanao into Sabah sparked a month-long crisis and at least 27 people were killed when Malaysian troops backed by fighter jets eventually subdued the militants.

The conflict disrupted operations in Sabah’s huge palm oil industry and, at the time, raised concern that prolonged trouble could dampen investor interest in energy and infrastructure projects in the state.

The nine were among the fighters captured.

A five-member Federal Court panel unanimously ruled that the death sentences were the most appropriate, upholding a decision by a lower court to increase the penalty from life sentences, according to the state news agency Bernama.

The court also upheld a lower court’s decision to release 14 other men who had been held in connection with the fighting in the sleepy Lahad Datu district.

The fighters were from a group that has demanded recognition, and an increased payment from Malaysia, for their claim to be the rightful owners of Sabah, which an ancient sultanate leased to British colonialists in the 19th century.

Malaysia dismissed their demands and the Philippine government repeatedly told the group to put down their weapons and go home.

The fighters declared loyalty to the self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram.