Balingian shooting: 8 held, 4 still at large

0

KUCHING: Eight persons have been remanded while another four are being sought by police in connection with the fatal shooting of a man at a blockade at Ulu Sungai Arip in Balingian, Mukah.

State CID chief Datuk Dev Kumar said the eight male suspects, comprising three acquaintances of the deceased and five villagers, were remanded for seven days until Nov 2 to facilitate investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

“The three acquaintances, aged between 27 and 38, were arrested after they showed up at Mukah district police headquarters on the day of the incident claiming they had been shot at by villagers at Sungai Arip.

“An inspection of the Toyota Hilux they were in revealed a shattered windscreen as well as several gunshot marks to the body of the vehicle,” he said in a statement issued yesterday.

Dev Kumar revealed that on Tuesday, a police team from Mukah conducted an investigation at Sungai Arip to identify villagers who were present at the blockade when the shooting occurred and subsequently arrested five men, including three longhouse chiefs, aged between 18 and 65.

“The police team also seized two shotguns and several shotgun cartridges as well as a number of other items related to the case,” he added.

The state CID chief further announced that police were currently tracking down four men who were part of the group of outsiders who confronted the villagers at the blockade and called on the public to provide police with any information on their whereabouts.

The four are Luis Lawrence, 46, of Desa Pujut 2 in Permyjaya, Miri; Gleneker Julin, 25, of Jalan Lang 1 in Lutong, Miri; Jeefarygeess Roseph, 35, of Jalan Riam, Miri; and Freddy Merungei, 30, of Jalan Keladi Teku in Sibu.

According to Dev Kumar, the initial investigation by police indicated that the group of outsiders had arrived at the blockade around 5.30pm on Monday in several vehicles.

He said the blockade was erected early this month by the villagers to prevent vehicles owned by the plantation company from entering the area.

What exactly transpired next remains unclear as there were no independent witnesses at the time.

All that is known is that one villager discharged a shotgun which struck the 26-year-old victim’s body.

“The group of outsiders immediately fled the scene leaving behind the deceased as well as a van, which was found to contain several machetes.

The deceased was found by police sprawled on the ground holding a machete, and had gunshot wounds as well as what appeared to be slash wounds,” said Dev Kumar, who also confirmed that two spent cartridges were recovered at the scene.

Police are currently working to identify all those who were present at the scene during the incident, and are also calling on villagers who witnessed what happened that day to step forward and assist in the investigation.

Dev Kumar added that police were also probing the background of the group of outsiders and their relationship with the plantation company in line with the commitment made by State Police Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Mansor that the investigation would be carried out in a fair and transparent manner.

He called on the public not to engage in speculation regarding this incident which may disrupt public order, saying the police would not hesitate to take action against those found spreading false information or attempting to cause provocation.

“The situation at Sungai Arip is calm and under control at the moment and we do not want anyone to exploit the situation and incite others.”