By Ivan Ho - Free Malaysia TodayLAHAD DATU: Police here are investigating yet another armed robbery at sea allegedly involving members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf terrorist group from Southern Philipines.
In the incident off Lahad Datu - in the east coast fo Sabah - six armed men in a high-speed boat boarded a Malaysian flagged vessel and made off with equipment and fuel.
The tug boat from Tawau belonging to Syarikat One Up Sdn Bhd, was pulling a scow loaded with 1,700 metric tonne of lumber on its way to Sandakan.
According to sources, a group of six armed men opened fire on the tug boat forcing it to stop at Tambisan water off Tungku near here on last Saturday afternoon at around 2.30pm.
Boasting that they are members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, the group armed with two M16 rifles and four semi automatic hand guns fired a warning shot into the air before letting loose a fusillade of shots at the tug boat when it did not stop.
The skipper of the tug boat finally stopped when bullets started whizzing by the crew and hit the tug boat's engines and propellers.
Five of the pirates then boarded the boat and robbed the skipper and his four sailors, all Indonesian Bugis with Malaysian work permits, of cash and cellphones.
They also took away a global positioning System (GPS) devise, seven thousand litres of diesel, six batteries and several cooking gas cylinders.
A crew member revealed that one of the men told them laughingly in fluent Malay: "Terima Kasih, kami akan datang lagi malam ini" (thank you, we will return tonight).
Investigations underway
With no communication tools, fuel or GPS devise the stranded crew drifted for an hour before a passing boat towed them to Tambisan.
They lodged a police report at the the Cendera Kasih police station in the Felda settlement.
Both the boat and the scow are still docked at the Tambisan’s jetty.
Lahad Datu District police chief, Supt Shumsuddin Bin Mat confirmed police had received an official report concerning the "pirate attack" but declined to elaborate and requested the media not to highlight the incident till police had completed their investigations.
It is learnt that the marine police dispatched a patrol boat to the scene and the navy had also been called to assist tighten security in the area.
Meawnhile newly appointed Sabah Commissioner of Police, Hamsa Taip when contacted declined to comment citing the possibility of involvement of members of a terrorist group from Southern Philippines.
Sabah police are believed to be seeking the assistance of Philippine security forces following the attack.
The attack comes almost 10 months after the yet-to-be solved kidnapping incident at Sebangkat Island in Semporna where five armed men kidnapped businessmen Tsen Vui Chung, 41, and Lai Wing Chau, 33, on Feb 8.
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