KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police have detained five men to help in the investigation into the shooting and damage caused to 46 premises around Kota Kinabalu on the nights of Jan 10 and 11, Sabah Police chief Datuk Hamza Taib said yesterday.
He said all the men, in their 30s, were detained by special squad under the ‘Ops Cermin’ operation formed to investigate the incident.
He said two of the five men had been released while the other three were still being remanded.
“We also seized an airgun. But we do not need to elaborate because the investigation is ongoing. The police view cases like this very seriously. Following the incident, we set up a special team headed by CID Chief SAC Omar Mammah,” he told reporters here.
According to Hamza, the case was initially investigated under Section 427 of the Penal Code, but later reclassified under Section 32 (2) of the Firearms Act 1960.
“I am much interested in this case because it seems to aim at creating restlessness among the people. They first opened fire in Inanam, then went to Gaya Street, then entered Wawasan Plaza and Times Square compounds, and later went to Luyang, Damai and Penampang,” he said.
Hamza said police were investigating the case from all angles, and were not limiting the scope of investigations to just naughty boys as many had assumed the culprits to be.
“We do not overlook other possibilities. Let the police conduct our investigations. We do not say it is done by just naughty boys. We are looking at all aspects. The investigation is holistic, all-encompassing. We are looking at whether it was done by naughty boys, if it was committed by specific groups and individuals with vested interests,” he said.
Hamza also reprimanded the media for not consulting the police before releasing photos which were purportedly images of the suspects in the shooting.
He said police had investigated the photos and found that the images and incidents were recorded outside Sabah and were downloaded by parties with specific motives.
“I have instructed the Kota Kinabalu police chief to open the investigations and we will take action against those who uploaded the photos onto whatsapp or social websites. We will begin investigations under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act,” he said. — Bernama