Zaini at a press conference after the 212th Police Day celebration.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Police Contingent will continue to work hard to ensure safety and peace of the State are maintained.
Speaking at the 212th Police Day celebration at the Sabah Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK), Kepayan, Sabah Deputy Commissioner of Police Datuk Zaini Jass said police were doing their level best to keep Sabah safe.
“Sabah is one of the States that need to be prioritised in terms of safety, especially after the intrusion of 2013 which sacrificed eight of our members’ lives.
“However, the safety situation in Sabah has been under control since then. To tackle militant threats, ongoing operations are conducted by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), specifically the Special Branch.
“From March 11-12, 2019, PDRM through the Special Branch, assisted by the Komando 69 Unit, carried out an operation in Semporna and Tambunan.
“As a result, 13 suspects comprising 12 Filipinos and one Malaysian were arrested on suspicion of involvement as members of various terrorist groups, namely Abu Sayyaf Group, Maute terrorist group or Royal Sulu Force. Some of the suspects were also involved in harbouring foreign terrorist elements in Sabah,” he said.
According to Zaini, the case is being investigated under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, on suspicion of committing terrorism-related offences.
As for criminal cases, Zaini said 993 cases in total were recorded from January to February this year, which is an increase of 15.06 per cent from 863 during the same period last year.
The crimes comprised violent offences, which reduced by 5.15 per cent from 97 cases in 2018 to 92 cases this year, and property crimes which increased by 17.62 per cent from 766 last year to 901 this year.
“Police have managed to solve 46.83 per cent of cases from January to February this year, which means 4.68 out of every 10 cases were solved. This puts Sabah in the eighth position with the most solved cases in the country.
“Based on our investigation and observation, criminal cases that contributed to the rise in crime activities during this period for this year, were robbery and housebreaking,” said Zaini.
He went on to say that most of the aforementioned cases were tied to drug-related offences, hence the emphasis on eradicating drug abuse.
From January to February this year, drug cases spiked by 44 cases or 36.4 per cent, and 74 more arrests or 50.3 per cent, compared to 2018.
Ketum leaves and syabu are the most seized drugs so far, at 6,168.69 grams and 4,225.52 grams respectively.
Meanwhile, commercial or white-collar crimes also increased this year with 251 recorded cases, which is 1.21 per cent more than 248 in 2018. Cheating cases, on the other hand, dropped by 7.18 per cent from 209 in 2018 to 194 this year.
Total losses as a result of commercial crimes from January to February this year are estimated at RM20,781,680.39, which is a marked rise of 185.65 per cent from RM7,275,314.10 in the previous year.
Zaini congratulated the Commercial Crime Investigation Unit for apprehending a suspect in a cheating case involving a popular e-hailing service, which involved losses of RM813,899.04.
He also commended their efforts in solving a criminal breach of trust case involving a civil servant, with losses of up to RM549,944.10.