KOTA KINABALU, July 26 — The nine accused in the 2013 Lahad Datu intrusion case today escaped the death sentence and were instead given life imprisonment for their involvement with the incident.
High Court judge Stephen Chung today set the sentence for Philippine nationals Atik Hussin Abu Bakar, 45; Basad H. Manuel, 41; Ismail Yasin, 76; Virgilio Nemar Patulada alias Mohammad Alam Patulada, 52; Salib Akhmad Emali, 63; Al Wazir Osman, 61; Tani Lahaddahi, 63; Julham Rashid, 69, and Datu Amir Bahar Hushin Kiram, 53, the son of self proclaimed Sultan Esmail Kiram.
In passing his judgement, Chung said there was no evidence to show that the nine had been involved in skirmishes that caused casualties or injuries and thus, they did not deserve capital punishment.
“I took into consideration the role of the individual in each offence and the suffering of the victims and their family as a result of the skirmish.
“Life imprisonment should send a strong message to deter any similar future offence,” he said in his ruling.
Yesterday, the nine were convicted under section 121 of the Penal Code for waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which is punishable by death.
The were also found guilty of a second offence of being members of a terrorist group, which carries life imprisonment and fine under Section 130KA of the Penal Code, and were ordered to carry out a second sentence of between 13 to 18 years concurrent with the life sentence.
Also found guilty of being members of a terrorist group were local Abd Hadi Mawan, 52, and Filipino Timhar Hadil, 39. The two will serve 15 years, while Lin Mad Salleh, 50, Holland Kalbi, 50, and Aiman Radie, 20 will all serve 13 years.
The sole woman accused, Philippine national Norhaida Ibnahi, 49, was sentenced to 10 years’ jail for harbouring her cousin, whom she knew was a member of a terrorist group, an offence under Section 130K of the Penal Code punishable with life imprisonment or 20 years imprisonment with fine or both.
Malaysians Pabblo Alie, 66 and Mohamad Ali Ahmad, 41 were sentenced to 15 years each under Section 130G(c) and 130J(1)(a) for soliciting property for the benefit of a terrorist group or act and soliciting and giving support to a terrorist group.
Chung said that for each sentence, he had weighed each accused’s role and background, their involvement in the act and the gravity and seriousness of the situation and took public interest into consideration.
Lead counsel for all the Filipino accused, Datuk N. Sivanathan, said that he was grateful that all their lives were spared, but would appeal for a lighter sentence.
“But we do feel lucky that there is no death penalty”, he said.
Earlier during mitigation, Sivanathan said that the accused were all merely part of a group that waged the war but had no role in the violence that ended up killing both Malaysians and Filipinos.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said that the team were looking at appealing against the sentence and pushing for the maximum sentence.
The armed incursion in February 2013 was initiated by the self-proclaimed Sulu sultan who tried to resurrect long-dormant land claims, sending some 200 Filipino militants who had arrived by boat in one of the easternmost districts of Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu. The clash left scores of both Malaysians and Filipinos dead and paralysed the region for weeks.
The court case of the accused began in January 2014 with 30 individuals comprising 27 Filipinos and three local men, accused of various offences linked to the armed intrusion at Kampung Tanduo.
The prosecution had called 166 witnesses over 239 days of proceedings which ended on January 5 this year.
In February, Chung ordered 19 of the 30 accused to enter their defence after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in establishing a prima facie case.
However, on February 23 and February 24, nine of the 19, including two locals, chose to plead guilty, but the judge reserved sentencing pending conclusion of the defence’s case.
