Four Malaysians arrested for entering Turtle Islands illegally
Published on: Sunday, January 07, 2024
By: Nikko Fabian
Mayor Faizal Jamalul said the four were arrested after a tip-off. They would be allowed to return to Sabah upon the “green light” from Malaysia.
Kota Kinabalu: The local authority of Turtle Islands (Taganak) municipality (less than an hour of boat ride from Sandakan) is working with its Sabah counterpart to repatriate four Malaysians who entered Tawi-Tawi, illegally, recently.
Mayor Faizal Jamalul said the four were arrested after a tip-off.
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He said initial investigation revealed they were in procession of Malaysian identification card. But the local authority had yet to receive official confirmation from Malaysia on the authenticity of the documents.
He said they would be allowed to return to Sabah upon the “green light” from Malaysia.
In a related development, Faizal said the municipality has not recorded any human trafficking, smuggling and other cross-border crime incidents for months.
“My municipality is enjoying zero such cases…we are very strict when it comes to enforcement of the law in Turtle Islands,” he stressed.
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On the Bongao-Lahad Datu ferry service, Faizal said it is expected to start end of January.
He said Tawi-Tawi Governor Yshmail ‘Mang’ Sali had yet to officially announce the date of the much awaited voyage.
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Faizal said the ferry service would operate twice weekly and every sea journey would take three to four hours of travel time. On the Taganak-Sandakan sea connectivity, he hoped it would commence second quarter of this year.
“Hopefully we can start operation by March or April,” Faizal said.
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