Who Said Civilians Do Not Deserve Bravery Medals?

These fishermen definitely deserves bravery medals all around as they understand the concept of Hanruh by deliberately putting themselves in harm's way in order to avoid a potential international disaster.

Gunmen force plucky fisherman to guide them to resort on Pulau Mabul, taken to army camp instead.

BY RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: A group of about 20 heavily-armed gunmen abducted a fisherman and demanded to be guided to a holiday resort on Pulau Mabul, Sabah, but were taken to an army camp on the island instead.

The incident began when the fisherman, who was in his boat, was approached by a speedboat off Pulau Umadal at about 6.30pm on Tuesday.

Garbed in dark clothes and armed with shotguns and pistols, the gunmen forced the fisherman to board their vessel and guide them towards Pulau Mabul where several resorts were located.

Upon approaching the island, the gunmen spotted a number of red lights on the shore, which fisherman said indicated the location of a resort.

As they got closer, the gunmen realised that it was a military camp and quickly turned their vessel around, heading towards Philippines waters.

The gunmen then spotted another fishing boat with eight men on board and forced them to board their vessel as well.

After several hours, one of the gunmen asked the nine fishermen what their race and religion were.

When told that all were Suluk and Muslim, the gunmen guided their boat close to another fishing vessel before ordering them to jump into the sea.

When contacted, Semporna district police chief Deputy Supt Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah said the incident occurred between 6.30 and 9.30pm on Tuesday.

"All victims were fishermen from around Semporna. As soon as they were freed and reached shore, they reported the incident to us,” he said.

"We are trying to determine where the group originated from based on the information from the abducted fishermen," Firdaus added.