KOTA KINABALU, June 13 — Sabah police have rounded up 12 individuals who are believed to have been involved in fights in Penampang and Ranau last week.

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said the incident in Petagas on Monday resulted in the death of Abdul Shukur Abdullah, 57, who suffered serious head injuries when he came to the aid of his son and grandchild who were involved in an altercation with two Pakistani men at a sundry shop.

“In that incident, Abdul Shukur’s son, aged 31, and the latter’s six-year-old son had gone to the shop to get some snacks before paying for them at the counter manned by one of the suspects (the Pakistani men). However, the boy later came back to the same shop to get some more (snacks) and had paid to the second suspect before putting them in into the same plastic bag (which contained the snacks bought earlier).

“When the first suspect saw this, he thought the boy was stealing which resulted in a fight between them outside the shop,” he told a press conference here today.

Omar said the suspects, aged 30 and 44 years, were now under remand and the case had been classified as murder.

The incident in Ranau on Sunday involved two groups of males, aged from 14 to 46 years, comprising both foreigners and locals.

Omar said the cause was a foreigner being punched for no apparent reason the day before.

“The next day, the victim came to the shop where the suspect worked to find out from a fellow worker why he was assaulted. A short while later the suspect came there along with several friends.

“At the same time, the victim’s friends also turned up with machetes and steel rods, A free for all broke out,” he said.

He added that all 10 males involved had been detained to facilitate investigations.

Omar also cautioned netizens not to spread negative comments about the incidents as this could disrupt public order and safety.

In Tawau, district police chief ACP Peter Ak Umbuas in a statement said police arrested another man yesterday to assist investigations into the case where a food stall operator, Jaafar Jaiman, 49, was murdered and his body dumped in a drain by the roadside along Jalan Bantu, Fajar here on Monday.

He said the suspect was caught at 9.10pm in the Bulatan Udang area, Jalan Chen Fook,Tawau and was under remand till June 19.

On Tuesday, Tawau police had arrested four youths, all Filipino illegal immigrants, in connection with the case. — Bernama