Yusoff Zaki looking on as fire destroys one of the six houses that were previously occupied by the Abu Sayyaf Group members killed in a firefight with security forces at Taman Sri Arjuna in Beaufort.
BEAUFORT: Six houses that were occupied by five Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members who were killed in a firefight with security forces at Taman Sri Arjuna in Beaufort, were burned to the ground on Friday morning.
Beaufort police chief DSP Yusoff Zaki Mat Yaacob said the operation to burn the houses was carried out after police had a meeting with the Beaufort District Officer, Abdul Imam Basirun.
“All parties decided it is best to burn these houses that were previously occupied by the five Abu Sayyaf Group who were killed when they attempted to attack security forces on May 17.
“For today’s operation (yesterday) we only managed to destroy six houses located at point B, where the May 17 incident took place, while the operation to destroy 30 other houses at point A have to be postponed temporarily as we were unable to make our way to the location as the area has been flooded due to several days of rain,” he said when met at the location on Friday.
On May 17, five Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members were killed following a firefight with security forces at Taman Sri Arjuna in Beaufort.
Those killed were the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) sub-leader Mabar Binda, and four other ASG members when they attempted to attack security forces personnel with pistols and machetes.
Two Colt 45 semi-auto pistol, 20 bullet casings and three machetes were recovered from the scene.
The firefight happened following an earlier special operation conducted by the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) and Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) in the same area on May 8.
Meanwhile, when asked about the rumors claiming that Beaufort is unsafe due to the alleged presence of terrorists, Yusoff Zaki said it is just rumor and assured the people that Beaufort is safe like other areas.
“Our operation to hunt for any remaining terrorists, who may still be in Beaufort, will continue and I have instructed my men to keep track of all squatters’ area for any suspicious individual or character presence in the area,” he said.
Yusoff Zaki also urged the public to play their part by contacting the police if they come into contact or know of any illegal activity taking place near their area.
Friday’s demolition team consists of 60 officers and personnel from various agencies including the Beaufort District office, Beaufort Environment Department, and the People’ Volunteer Corps (Rela).