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Malaysia releases 17 Indonesians who illegally entered Sebatik Island
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday that 17 Indonesians who were reportedly being detained by Malaysian authorities for illegally crossing into Malaysia have returned to Indonesia
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he Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday that 17 Indonesians who were reportedly being detained by Malaysian authorities for illegally crossing into Malaysia have returned to Indonesia.
'They were never detained and they have returned to Indonesia,' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta.
According to Nasir, the group returned to Indonesia on Sunday.
Previously, Malaysian English-language newspaper The Star reported that the Malaysian Police arrested 17 Indonesians, 14 of whom were military and police personnel, after they attacked a police station to get to a suspected killer on Sebatik Island, an island shared by both countries off Sabah's southwestern Tawau district on Friday.
Deputy inspector general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the men violated Section 6 (3) of the 1963 Immigration Act by entering the country illegally and Section 8 of the 1960 Arms Act for the possession of firearms without permits.
'These men were all of lower ranks and were there of their own accord. They were not instructed to bring the suspect back by any superior," he said as quoted by The Star.
Noor Rashid also confirmed that Malaysian police officers on Sebatik had arrested a suspect who was apparently wanted by the Indonesian police in connection with a murder case.
The men had invaded the Wallace Bay police station in Sebatik, demanding the murder suspect be identified so they could take him back. (nvn)(+++)
