Did the police walk into a trap in Semporna?

Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar says his men may have been lured in by decoys and fired upon as they entered the water village.

TAWAU: Police searching for a group of gunmen in Kampung Sri Jaya in the Simunul area in Semporna may have walked into a trap that was set for them.

According to sources, the gunmen appeared ready for the police raid and opened fire as the police were on the narrow single-plank walkways linking the various houses on stilts.

Five policemen, including an officer, and two unidentified gunmen were killed during the firefight that occurred around 7pm yesterday.

Police have encircled the village, one of many that are perched on stilts over the sea, to track down remaining gunmen.

Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar confirmed that his men may have been lured in by decoys and fired upon as they entered the water village.

He said that police had moved in based on a tip off that there were armed men in the vicinity.

“Based on this information, a police team from the Semporna district police headquarters entered the place but were ambushed when they arrived,” he told a press conference in Felda Sabahat Residence, Lahad Datu today.

The Semporna shooting comes just after the killing of two policemen on Friday in Lahad Datu, where a shootout with armed intruders loyal to the Sulu Sultanate took place.

Ismail said police were unsure if the two incidents are linked.

He also said the police had arrested three men, one armed with a knife, who were trying to slip through a security cordon around Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu late Saturday. They are being interrogated.

The death toll has now climbed to 21 in two days with seven policemen killed in the line of duty both in Lahad Datu and Semporna.  Friday also saw 12 gunmen loyal to the 74-year-old Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III killed. This group had ‘invaded’ Lahad Datu on Feb 12 to stake a claim on Sabah.

A source said that police are also “keen to get in touch with Mohd Akjan Ali Muhammad, the businessman who proclaimed himself as the ‘Sultan of Sulu’ in 2011. Akjan is also a former Umno member who has the loyalty of a large number of Filipinos in the state.

Akjan, according to sources, however cannot be located.

There are also unconfirmed reports that the General Operations Force (GOF) centre in Kinarut near here, a complex that was contracted to Akjan, is on heightened alert as is much of the police stations throughout Sabah.

There is a large Filipino refugee settlement in Kinarut, a small town located about 20 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu.

Kota Kinabalu police chief ACP Javeh Dikun meanwhile said reports of a group of around 500 Filipinos gathering in Sepanggar, the main port about 30 minutes drive from the state capital are false. He advised the public to ignore rumours circulating in the social media.

Residents fleeing Semporna
Meanwhile in SEMPORNA, panicked residents here, especially those living near the seaside settlement of Siminul, a collection of houses on stilts over the sea, are fleeing the area following Saturday night’s gun battle which saw the death of the five policemen and five others injured.

Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman also told reporters that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had assured that security in Sabah was being given top priority following Saturday night’s shooting.

“From my side, I will be working closely with the Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to monitor all areas apart from Lahad Datu,” he said.

Musa said Sabah police commissioner Hamza Taib and the army were also gearing up operations statewide.

“I am also calling for cooperation and assistance from local leaders to tone down the sentiments and numerous rumours on what is happening in Sabah,” he said, adding that  people should stop speculating and spreading rumours and increasing anxiety.

In Tawau, residents are also running scared.

“The Chinese community here are worried,” said a journalist based there.

In another development, eye-witnesses claimed that another shooting incident happened in Kampung Pelangi, Bukit Garam near Kinabatangan, about an hour’s drive outside Lahad Datu. This report could not be confirmed.