KOTA KINABALU: The High Court her eyesterday heard that the entry of several armed people from the Philippines had driven residents out of a village in Semporna.
Testifying as a protected witness at the hearing into an armed intrusion in Lahad Datu, a communication interception processing officer said the presence of the group in Kampung Selamat had driven its villagers away.
The witness, who went by the initials AVB, was explaining the telephone conversations on March 2, 2013, between an unidentified man dubbed ‘Lelaki Sabah’ and an intrusion suspect identified as Datu Amir Bahar.
“Datu Amir Bahar asked if it was confirmed that those who entered (Kampung Selamat) were not the police and Lelaki Sabah said yes.
“Lelaki Sabah also said that most of the villagers of Kampung Selamat fled as soon as they realised the presence of ‘our people’,” said AVB through a court interpreter who wore earphones to follow the testimony of the witness.
The witness was testifying at the trial of 30 individuals linked to the intrusion by Sulu gunmen in Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu, in February 2013.
AVB also said that the man told Datu Amir Bahar that the group arrived in speedboats, while the suspect told him that a war had erupted at Pulau Bum-Bum.
In the dock are 27 Filipinos and three local residents who are facing one to multiple charges of being members of a terrorist group and waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
They are also alleged to have recruited members for a terrorist group or willfully harboured individuals they knew to be members of a terrorist group.
The offences were allegedly committed between Feb 12 and April 10, 2013.
The hearing before Justice Stephen Chung at the Sabah Prisons Department continues tomorrow.