KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — The man who was killed in a shootout with a police team from the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) in the waters off Pulau Kantong Kalungan, Lahad Datu in Sabah yesterday, was the most wanted Abu Sayyaf militant in the southern Philippines.
Abu Paliyak, 30, a Filipino, had been involved in several criminal cases including kidnapping for ransom in Sabah waters.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the militant had long been on the police ’Most Wanted’ list.
“We knew this man had entered our territorial waters through our intelligence network and joint operations with the authorities there (in the Philippines),
“Esscom is currently in the midst of tracking down the remaining members of the militant group,” he told a press conference after the 62nd anniversary of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) at its base in Cheras here.
Abu Paliyak was gunned down by Malaysian security forces about 3am Monday in the waters off Pulau Kantong Kalungan during a shootout.
According to Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din at a press conference yesterday, the militant was a member of the Remy Group, also known as ‘Two Brothers’.
He said the man was believed to have been monitoring the movement of security forces at sea to channel information to a kidnap-for-ransom group to commit cross-border crimes in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) group when he was spotted by the authorities.
In the encounter that followed, Abu Paliyak was nailed by the Lahad Datu Marine Police Force and an Esscom special team who were on patrol incognito. — Bernama
