InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
The online news portal of TV5
KUALA LUMPUR – A consular team from the Philippine Embassy visited and conferred Thursday with the eight detained Filipinos in Sabah facing charges for their alleged involvement in the Lahad Datu stand-off, and then clashes, between Malaysian security forces and hundreds of followers of the Sulu Sultanate.
The Embassy team, led by First Secretary and Consul Antonina Mendoza-Oblena and Director Renato Villa, talked to the eight individuals at the prison facility in Tawau and inquired about their conditions. They also asked about the places of origin and respective families of the accused, some of whom face charges that could carry the death penalty.
The eight men facing criminal charges were identified by the Embassy as: Atik Hussin Bin Abu Bakar, Basad H. Manuel, Habil Bin Suhaili, Holland Bin Kalbi, Thimhar Hadil Suhaili, Lin Bin Mad Salleh, Kadir Bin Uyung and Lating Bin Tiong.
"It is a standing policy for the Philippine Government to provide appropriate consular assistance to nationals in distress, whether or not we agree with their acts or advocacies,” Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said. “We would like to ensure that their rights as accused are respected and that they have legal representation when court sessions resume on April 12, as promised by Malaysian authorities.”
The consular jail visit was conducted after arrangements were made with the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General’s Chambers and Tawau prison officials.
No other details were made available due to the sensitivity of the cases, the embassy said.
The Embassy said it may find difficulty in extending consular assistance to Raja Muda Agbimuddin, the younger brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, in light of revelations that he had “acquired” Malaysian citizenship. There are conflicting reports also as to the whereabouts of the man said to have led over 200 followers of the Sulu sultanate in reclaiming their “homeland” of Sabah, which Malaysia got from the British government when its federation was created, but remains subject of a claim by the sultanate, to which Malaysia pays annual rental payments.
In an interview with reporters on March 23, Malaysian Defense Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi earlier confirmed that Agbimuddin is a Malaysian citizen who worked as a civil servant in Sabah. He said that Agbimuddin was an assistant district officer in Kudat under the administration of former Sabah Chief Minister Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun.
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