KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) expects to make more arrests to assist with investigations into the trespassing of foreign fishermen into the country’s waters.
Its director Datuk Sazali Salbi said arrests would be based on information obtained from individuals who were remanded in a magistrate’s court here, yesterday.
“Three officers from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) from Sabah have been remanded for five to six days.
“There may be more arrests in the next three or four days if we (MACC) obtain sufficient evidence from the investigation into the three officers remanded today,” he said when met by reporters after witnessing the corruption-free pledge by the Sabah Land and Survey Department here.
A 45-year-old MMEA officer was detained for six days, while another two, aged 53 and 39 years, were remanded for five days to assist with investigations under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009 on allegations of corruption resulting in foreign fishing boats entering the waters of Sabah.
They were among 22 individuals, including local civil servants and citizens of Vietnam detained in the operation code-named ‘Op Armada’, involving the trespassing of Vietnamese fishermen into the country’s waters, which also included the seizure of RM1.9 million in cash.