1954 Semporna pirate attack: Remembering fallen heroes

Published on: Sunday, March 26, 2023

By: Datuk Clement Jaikul

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Semporna shops in 1960.

SIXTY-nine years ago on the morning of March 29, 1954, was calm and peaceful as fishermen were returning from sea bringing along their catches to an old dilapidated market in Semporna. There were only two rows of wooden shops riddled with bullets during the air raid by the Allies during the war.

The shops were mostly owned by Chinese of Hokkien descent whose roots were from South Philippines.

Semporna was a sub district at the time and the day to day government business were handled by a clerk and the District Native Chief Panglima Abdullah assisted by his assistant Native Chief Jakarullah. For security there was a wooden police station made of belians and bullet marks were all over the place as “memento” of World War II. In charge of the small detachment of policemen was Sgt Sagar Singh, veteran of the Second World War.

He was assisted by detective Bullah Ganggal and six other constables. As for the medical services Chief Hospital Assistant or CHA, Henry Chow Fook On, he was in charge of the hospital. Another veteran of the war, he helped the Australian army in its fight against the Japanese occupation and his efforts had been recognised by the Australian Defence Ministry.

An aerial view of Semporna in the 1960s.

The talk of the town on that day was a football match that was to take place at the football field not far from the police station. It was a match between government officers and civilians. As it was expected to be an exciting match, a large crowd would soon gather around the football field as spectators.

At about 5pm the referee blew the whistle for the kick-off. This was followed by cheers and claps from the crowd. The spectators were now focused on the match which had started with both teams playing aggressively to make the first score.

The crowd at the football field were unaware of any unusual activities at sea. Two “kumpits” or trading boats with about 30 heavily armed pirates were approaching the Customs jetty. Upon landing, the pirates split into two groups, one heading to the police station and the other the shops.

Customs jetty in Semporna in 1953.

Thomas

The Lahad Datu District Forestry officer Thomas Robert Barnard, who had just arrived at the Customs jetty, was alarmed after seeing the pirates. He took a government-issued shotgun and fired several shots at the pirates who were attacking the police station. He managed to kill a pirate and wounded another before a gang of pirates surrounded him and shot him on the back. He died on the boat. The first shot was fired from the direction of the jetty. The crowd dispersed in panic while shouting “Mundu Mundu”, meaning pirates in Suluk dialect. On realising the presence of the pirates, the general alarm was sounded at the police station by constable Jambuan.

The officer in charge of the police station, Sgt Sagar Singh, arrived immediately at the station followed by two policemen, constables Sulaiman Mahmod and Gimun, who were at the football field. Sgt Sagar Singh took up a defensive action with just a few policemen against a large number of well-armed pirates.

Sagar (left), Jakarullah (right)

Henry

1964: (From left) Insp Clement Jaikul and Insp Bullah Ganggal.

Sergeant Sagar Singh receiving the Colonial Police Medal. (Pic: Sergeant Sagar’s family)

Exchanging fires at close range and almost engaging in hand to hand fight, Sgt Sagar led his men into battle. Sgt Sagar was shot while he was getting ammunition supply from the armoury. Although badly wounded he got up to reach the armoury. One of the pirates took a “barong” and slashed him several times till his last breath. The rest led by police Cons table Sulaiman Mahmod and Jambuan managed to rush out from the police Station, but Jambuan was way laid by a “barong” armed pirate and was slashed to death on the football field. One of the concerns of Sgt Sagar was the security of their families at the nearby police barracks. He had just enough time before rushing to the police station to get hold of detective constable Bullah Ganggal to round up all the policemen’s families to a secure place, beneath the police barracks.

Detective Bullah, who was a veteran of the Malayan Communist Insurgency in 1948, can only clench his fists after Sgt Sagar ordered him to stay put for the safety of the their families. According to Bullah, he could only watch from a distance on what was going on and this experience had since haunted him throughout his service.

Meanwhile, whilst the shootings at the police station was going on, a group of pirates broke into a government quarters occupied by Chief Hospital Assistant, Henry Chow Fook On, and his family who locked themselves in the bedroom while Henry was in the living room when the pirates broke in.

Fearing for the safety of his families there was a scuffle between Henry and the pirates. As he fought courageously for his life Henry fell to the floor bleeding profusely after one of the pirates slashed his stomach with a sharpened “Barong”. The pirates left him to bleed to near death – miraculously he survived to tell his story.

With the police station overrun by pirates they broke into every shop to grab whatever they could find and forced terrified bystanders to carry the loot to the kumpits tied up at the Customs jetty. The pirates held Semporna hostage for three terrifying hours.

At about 8pm, Semporna was in near total darkness when the leader of the pirates gave the order to leave quietly to sea. At about 8.45pm a group of members of the public and the two police constables, headed by Native Chief Jakarullah, inspected the town for casualties. Besides Sgt Sagar, Barnard, a Chinese tailor, a 12-year-old boy and two police constables were also found dead. All the injured were brought to the police station for treatment.

This is the true story of gallantry and heroism by a small band of six policemen under the charge of Sgt Sagar who was fatally shot and slashed while carrying out his duty, not forgetting the sacrifice and loss of life of Thomas Robert Barnard, the seriously injured Henry and death of two policemen as well as two civilians during one of the bloodiest pirate raids in the history of Semporna and then British North Borneo. This short memoir is a tribute to our fallen heroes lest their sacrifices be forgotten.