Terrorism charges for eight men involved in Borneo raid
Thursday 21 March 2013
Printable
EmailMalaysian prosecutors charged eight Filipino men with terrorism-related offences yesterday after an armed incursion in Borneo left 71 people dead.
The eight are the first to face charges after an estimated 200 members of a Filipino Muslim clan slipped into Malaysia's Sabah state last month and took over a village in a bid to highlight a long-dormant territorial claim.
Subsequent firefights resulted in the deaths of 62 clansmen as well as nine Malaysian police and army personnel.
Government prosecutors laid charges against the eight suspects of waging war against Malaysia's king and harbouring people who commit terrorist acts.
The first offence carries a possible death penalty while the other could lead to a maximum of life imprisonment.
It was not clear whether the suspects were captured clansmen or Filipinos who abetted them in Sabah, which is home to about 800,000 Filipino settlers.
Malaysia has detained more than 300 Filipino suspects in recent weeks on suspicion of having been informants for the clansmen and other offences.
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