Murder Suspects To Be Charged

Edwin Singa Pelipus

KUCHING: The police will be charging three suspects on Friday for the murder of 19-year-old Lun Bawang youth Edwin Singa Pelipus in Lawas last Friday evening.

State Commissioner of Police Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said with that the police considered the case closed.

He called on all quarters to remain calm and rational before giving a stern warning to the people in Lawas not to take the law into their hands.

“Do not take the law into your own hands. The police will make sure that whoever breaks the laws will pay the price, regardless of who they are. We will not compromise on this principle.

“On the same principle, we will also not compromise on whoever is trying to take the law into their own hands,” Acryl stressed.

When asked if the tension was due to long standing feuds between two communities, he confirmed that it was the case.

He thus urged all quarters involved to solve their disputes through the proper channel set up by the state government which was through community leaders such as Temenggong, Pemanca and Penghulu.

“Do not spill your quarrel over to the public but settle it through your community leaders and headmen,” said Acryl.

He told The Borneo Post yesterday that the police had beefed up its force in Lawas by deploying an additional platoon of General Operations Force and 45 more police personnel from Miri and Limbang.

“We hope with extra police personnel around, the people will think twice about taking the law into their own hands,” warned Acryl.

On ground zero, he said emotions were still running high but so far the situation had been under control.

“The public must not panic but remain calm. I urge them to play their civic responsibility by not passing on rumours through short messaging system (SMS) to make matters worse,” added Acryl.

Former Lun Bawang Association president William Ghani Bina described the incident as isolated and urged the Lun Bawang community who had come as far as Sabah and Kalimantan to disperse.

“We all understand that the family members of the deceased are emotional at the moment but we must not add fuel to the already tense situation there. We must be rational in addressing the matter,” said William.

Meanwhile, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Native Adat and Penan Affairs) Datuk John Sikie said his ministry would investigate the root cause of the problem.

“I can’t comment further as the matter is still under investigation by all the relevant authorities,” said Sikie. - BORNEO POST