KUCHING: Three persons, including two tuai rumah, from Ulu Sebangan were arrested by Simunjan police yesterday in connection with an arson attack on a logging camp there.
This brings the number of people detained thus far to seven following the arrest of four villagers from the same area a day earlier.
Simunjan district police chief DSP Choo Yin Kok confirmed the latest arrests when contacted yesterday, saying the trio were being held to facilitate investigation into the incident.
He added that the four men arrested earlier have each been remanded for four days.
The arrest of the seven villagers came after heavy machinery, trucks and barracks of a logging company operating in the area were allegedly torched by more than 100 people last Monday.
It was reported in The Borneo Post yesterday that local longhouse dwellers claimed the company had been operating an illegal logging camp on their native customary land for the past month.
In addition, a group of longhouse people were said to have set up a roadblock to stop trucks from passing through the entrance to the camp located at Km2.5 Ulu Sungai Selabu in Sebangan.