ESSCom to inject element of ‘show of force’

TAWAU: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) will inject the element of ‘show of force’ into its crime-busting strategy.

To this end, its commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali said ESSCom was in discussions with the district police chief, regional maritime chief and other security agencies. He also said five sea checkpoints had been proposed for ESSZone to intercept illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries and curb cross border crimes such as armed sea robbery and drug smuggling.

“The proposal is still awaiting government approval,” he said when met at an ESSCom programme in conjunction with National Month celebration at Kampung Inderasabah launched yesterday by Kalabakan MP Ma’mun Sulaiman on behalf of Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew.

Currently, he said ESSCom has two road checkpoints, in Kalabakan, Tawau and Sapi Nangoh, Beluran, which have successfully foiled a number of attempts to smuggle in migrants and controlled items and illegal goods.

On cases of armed robbery at sea, he said there had been two this year including the most recent on Sunday, an attempted robbery in the waters off Tawau near the Indonesian border in which a fisherman was shot in the arm while trying to flee.

In the 12.30pm incident, the man aged 60 and his son aged 27 were fishing when their boat was approached by three masked men in a boat. The victim managed to speed off but a shot fired by one of the suspects hit him.

Hazani said there may have been more cases of attempted robberies which went unreported, adding the culprits were likely cross-border criminals.

“I say this because we have some clue that the weapons used in the robberies were from neighbouring countries,” he said. — Bernama