4 gunmen rob fishermen of outboard motors in Sabah, putting Esscom under spotlight

The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) is under the spotlight again after four gunmen clad in army fatigues pulled off a robbery in the waters off Tanjung Labian.

The gunmen, armed with three M-16 rifles, robbed three fishermen of their outboard motors close to Sungai Bilis at 11pm on Sunday, reported the Star.

Authorities were alerted to the incident after a police patrol team came across the three victims paddling back to the coast today.

The victims later lodged separate police reports and stated that they had been robbed of two 15-horsepower motors and one pump boat motor, the Star reported.

Both police and Esscom officers are investigating if the pirates were locals or foreigners.

Patrols in the area have also been increased to track down the robbers, who could be beyond Malaysia's borders.

Sabah police chief Datuk Hamza Taib confirmed the incident.

Tanjung Labian was the centre of operations by Malaysian security forces last year following the Lahad Datu intrusion by armed Sulu terrorists.

Esscom is already under a lot of pressure following two incidents in which foreigners were abducted from Semporna by Abu Sayyaf gunmen.

In early March, 29-year-old Gao Hua Yun from Shanghai and 40-year-old Marcy Dayawan @ Mimi were abducted from the Singgahmata Reef Resort in Semporna.

The incident occurred several months after a Taiwanese national, Chang An Wei, 57, had been abducted by armed men from Pom Pom island.

In the November incident, Chang's companion, Li Min Hsu, 57, died after being shot several times by the armed men.

Chang was freed a month later in December after a sizable ransom was reportedly paid for her release.

The fate of Gao and Marcy, however, is still not known although it is learned that the kidnappers have already made their ransom demands.

This has led both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers to describe Esscom as a waste of public funds. – May 5, 2014.