PM: Intruders used white flag as a ruse

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PETALING JAYA: The armed intruders in Sabah had used a white flag as a ruse to open fire on Malaysian police commandos yesterday in the incident in Kampung Tanduo, 130km from Lahad Datu, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said he learned this from one of the VAT 69 police commandos, and described it a cowardly act.

“The two slain commandos had seen the white flag and did not think that there would be other intruders waiting to open fire on them.

“I do not rule out the possibility that it was a trap by the intruders. If they had resorted to such a tactic, it was a act of cowards,” he told reporters after paying his last respects to the two slain commandos at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang near here.

In Lahad Datu, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar dismissed a foreign media report that 10 of the intruders surrendered to the security forces on Friday.

The intruders had attempted to get out of Kampung Tanduo but stumbled upon the security forces and opened fire, triggering the shootout, he said  when he visited General Operations Force personnel at their base at Felda Sahabat 16. — Bernama