VAT69 commandos received instructions to shoot at armed intruders — Witness

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KOTA KINABALU: VAT69 commandos received instructions to fire at any intruder should they be armed, during the incursion at Kampung Tanjung Batu in Lahad Datu last March 6, the High Court heard yesterday.

DSP Anwar Rosdi said the orders, given to the commandos during a ‘cut-off’ operation to prevent the intruders from escaping Kampung Tanjung Batu, were not the same instructions given at the close reconnaissance (recce) operation conducted at Kampung Tanduo.

Counsel Datuk N Sivananthan: “It has been in your evidence that you should not shoot first unless you were shot at. Do you agree with me that this instruction was not followed by you on
March 6?”

Anwar: “I do not agree because that instruction was for the operation at Kampung Tanduo, not at Kampung Tanjung Batu.”

The witness also dismissed as a mistake, the fatal shooting of two intruders at Kampung Tanjung Batu.

Sivananthan: Do you agree with me that you and your team were free to shoot at any intruders?

Anwar: I do not agree because we could only shoot at those that were armed.

Sivananthan: I put it to you that you and your team failed to exercise due caution before firing at them.

Anwar: I do not agree because they were armed.

He explained that there were four patrols under his charge with a strength of 24 men, and not all were involved in the shoot-out at Kampung Tanjung Batu but he could not recollect the number.

He said he spotted five armed intruders at Kampung Tanjung Batu but held his fire and gave orders instead for his men to shoot.

Earlier, Anwar told the court that the teams of sectors B and D during a close recce operation at Kampung Tanduo on March 1 were inside sector C when a shoot-out occurred.

Questioned by Sivananthan whether he had signalled for help, Anwar, who led the sector C team said he used a walkie-talkie to inform Operations Tactical Commander Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun about the shoot-out in his sector as the latter was the only person who could decide who would go to their aid.

“But around the same time, sector B was also attacked by the armed intruders. From what I can recall, my team and team B encountered a shoot-out more or less at 10am because our locations were close and I could hear gunshots (from sector B),” he said.

Anwar also told the court that he did not receive any message from one of his men, Corporal Azman Ampong who was ahead with Corporal Mohd Tarmizi Hashim, that they had been spotted by a group of the armed intruders.

“I only received Azman’s message via walkie-talkie two minutes after the shoot-out occurred, informing that he had been shot.

Questioned by Sivananthan if he had tried to communicate with Azman to ask what was going on upon hearing the first shots, Anwar said he could not remember whether he did as the situation then was chaotic.

Thirty accused, comprising 27 Filipinos and three local residents, are being tried in the case.

Some are facing multiple charges of being members of a terrorist group or waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, recruiting members for a terrorist group or willfully harbouring individuals they knew to be members of a terrorist group.

They allegedly committed the offences between Feb 12 and April 10 last year.

The hearing before Justice Stephen Chung, which is being convened at the Sabah Prisons Department, continues today. — Bernama