Published: Friday October 2, 2015 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Friday October 2, 2015 MYT 8:47:38 AM
Anti-drug cops hit by sniper fire in Sabah
by muguntan vanar
KOTA KINABALU: As two anti-narcotics detectives were arresting a suspected drug peddler, they were hit by sniper fire from a nearby hill.
Sjn-Mej Sabturani Maul, 46, suffered a gunshot wound to his head while Kons Tong Wilson, 24, was hit in the head, nose and body in the single shot fired from a hill near the Salut Commercial Centre in Sepanggar, near here.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said both the policemen were being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2.
He said a massive hunt was under way for the suspect or suspects hiding in the hillside from where the sniper was believed to have fired with a homemade gun.
Relating the incident, Jalaluddin said a team of policemen from an anti-narcotics unit, led by Insp Siri Piuh, were carrying out operations at about 2pm yesterday when they spotted two suspicious-looking men and approached the duo.
As soon as they identified themselves, the two men tried to escape. A struggle ensued, which led to one being arrested while the second managed to escape towards the hill.
“The man arrested claimed to be an ethnic Bajau but did not have any documents,” said Jalaluddin.
“The police also recovered two plastic packets containing what looked like syabu in his pants.”
As they were checking the suspect, there was a sudden explosion and the pellets hit the two detectives from the Kepayan state police headquarters.
“We believe the shot came from the nearby hill,” he said, adding that it could have been from the man who escaped or other accomplices in the area.
