Blogger chided for post on 'deadly fire' in LD
Published on: Saturday, August 27, 2016
Lahad Datu: A blog which claimed 35 people were burnt to death along with 240 houses and 20 vehicles in an operation conducted by the local authority at Kg Lobang has come under fire. Lahad Datu Assemblyman Datuk Mohd Yusof Apdal said the allegations may cause chaos and believes that the post which was made without getting the right facts may tarnish the district's image. "The statement is not true and we will take appropriate action such as lodge a police report as this matter could cause chaos. "The blogger's post seems to indicate that Lahad Datu is in bad condition," he said, adding that he believed the action to demolish the houses is among efforts to eliminate illegal immigrants.
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Yusof also requested for the operation to be temporarily laid off in order to view it from the political aspect. He said they always support the Government's action to implement the zero squatter programme in Sabah. However, the programme should be undertaken when the Government has found the best solution for resettlement. "We do not want the people to become victims in this matter. However, if the houses were occupied by illegal immigrants, we will not protest the local authority's action as illegal immigrants are not under our concern," he added.
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In TAWAU, the Tawau Municipal Council regretted the false accusations by the blog which claimed that the Municipal Council had conducted burning in Kg Titingan/Icebox which allegedly claimed the lives of 10 families who were burnt to death and seven vehicles destroyed in the fire. Its President Alijus Sipil said they have lodged a police report over the allegations.
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He said the police report was lodged at the Tawau police headquarters at about 10.35am and that they have also sent a letter through their lawyer to the blogger to put right the false information and to make a public apology to the Municipal Council. "A public apology must be done within 24 hours upon receiving the letter from the Tawau Municipal Council," he said. He said this in reference to an article published by The Sabah Insider Online blog titled "440 rumah ahli-ahli Umno musnah dibakar oleh Esscom- MDLD-MPT atas arahan kerajaan Umno/BN 30 mati renting, polis tutup mata." Tawau Police Chief ACP Fadil Marsus said the case is being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission Act. The article dated Aug 25, among others, claimed that the Tawau Municipal Council had with cooperation with the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) razed more than 200 homes belonging to local community and illegal immigrants in Kg Ice Box 3.4 who are Umno/Barisan Nasional Tawau members. The article also claimed that several residents who witnessed the tragedy accused the enforcement personnel from the Tawau Municipal Council, police and army being involved in burning the houses in the village, resulting in the death of 10 families and seven cars destroyed. It was recently reported that a total of 16 illegal immigrants were detained during an integrated Esscom operation held at Kg Titingan/Icebox on Tuesday after they failed to produce valid documents. Meanwhile, Fadil confirmed that a total of 30 water village houses tenanted by illegal immigrants were demolished during the Monday to Tuesday operation, while illegal wiring connections were also cut off. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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