KENINGAU: Seven men were arrested by police for suspected involvement in cockfighting gambling during a raid at Kampung Kadalakan, at around 1.30pm, on Monday, here.
Deputy District Police Chief of Keningau, DSP Alizam Bin Haji Dalaman, said acting on intelligence, a team from the 21st Battalion of the General Operations Force (PGA), the Criminal Investigation Division (BSJ) of Keningau District Police Headquarters, and the Enforcement Unit of the Sabah Veterinary Services Department, carried out the raid.
He said the raid resulted in the arrest of seven men aged between 32 and 61, including three local citizens, four Indonesian, and one Filipino national.
“Further inspection revealed that two of the foreign detainees did not possess valid travel documents, and urine screening tests conducted on all detainees returned negative results for drugs,” he said in a statement, on Tuesday.
Alizam said police also seized several items, including a black crossbody bag labelled “Seventeen”, 40 coloured betting slips, four live fighting roosters, four dead fighting roosters, nine cockspur knives, cash totalling RM7,250, and a red wooden box used as a rooster perch.
He added that the seized fighting roosters were handed over to the Keningau Veterinary Services Department for further action.
Initial investigations revealed all detainees admitted to participating in the gambling activities, with one admitting to organising the event, which was held to mark a 100-day postpartum ceremony for a family member, while also selling food and beverages at the site.
Alizam further stated that a temporary cockfighting ring had been set up using white lines in an open area surrounded by residential homes.
All detainees and seized items were taken to Keningau District Police Headquarters for further action, and the detainees are currently held at the Keningau police lock-up.
The men were brought to the Keningau Magistrate’s Court on 17 February 2026 for a remand application, which was granted until February 20, to facilitate further investigations.
The case is being investigated under Section 21 of the Animal Welfare Enactment 2015, with Insp. Sentiasa Binti Samad from the Criminal Investigation Division of Keningau District Police Headquarters appointed as the investigating officer.
