IGP refutes ‘10 mil ransom for abducted cop’ report
(The Sun Daily) – A visibly angry Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pix) has refuted a newspaper report that a “10 million” ransom had been demanded by kidnappers for the release of marine police constable Zakia Aleip.
“Don’t put the life of the victim in danger. In this case, the victim is my man. So, do not put my man in danger,” Khalid told the media today while launching the “Ops Selamat 5” road safety campaign here.
An English daily had today reported that Zakia’s captors had contacted the police at 10.50pm on Sunday with the brief call ending with the caller saying, “I demand 10 million” without specifying the currency.
“Don’t believe the ransom rumours, nor the story!” said Khalid, adding that such reports would create more problems, including jeopardising the victim’s life.
The 26-year old marine policeman was abducted from Pulau Mabul off Semporna last Saturday night by eight heavily-armed gunmen from the southern Philippines who also gunned down his colleague Corporal Abd Rajah Jamuan, 32, in a shootout.
His abductors allowed Zakia to call his 23-year-old wife, Sharifah Erna Benson, on Sunday night to say he was okay but was being held at an undisclosed location.
Commenting on former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s statement in his blog that it is time to demolish the water villages along the east coast of Sabah and relocate the people in secure places on land, Khalid said the Sabah government is already planning to do so.
He said apart from being a hive for criminals, the water villages are also bad for the inhabitants’ health due to bad sanitation.
“The Sabah government has started a census on the water villagers. All the non-Malaysians will be repatriated,” he said, adding that the relocation plan is only for Malaysian citizens.
Meanwhile, Bernama quoted Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying the authorities in Sabah have been instructed to monitor the movement of permanent residents in a bid to identify and arrest those who are the moles and henchmen of foreign intruders .
“The government will not hesitate to take legal action against the permanent residents or illegal immigrants caught being henchmen for such groups,” he warned.
“We will not compromise and once we have valid information on these henchmen, they will not escape,” he said, adding that the authorities can use existing laws, such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) or the Police Act 1967 against such people.
Speaking to reporters after being interviewed in the “Mesej Dari Penjara” segment in TV3’s Wanita Hari Ini programme today, Ahmad Zahid said the government is not planning to separate the settlements according to the various ethnicities in Sabah as the henchmen do not comprise any one ethnic background.
“We cannot separate them according to Tausug or other ethnicities because we don’t see them (henchmen) as being a certain ethnicity, so we will monitor meticulously to ensure that no one will be wrongly prosecuted,” he added.
