BELURAN: Police are investigating an alleged extortion by a group of nine armed men who purportedly detained three Indonesian fishermen fishing in the Jambongan waters, here, on April 24.
The incident occurred 4.5 nautical miles from the Malaysian international boundary and the neighbouring country.
The three were said to be still in Malaysian seas when the armed group, five of them wearing protective vests with the words “Pulis”, approached them.
The trio are safe and freed on April 26, according to Beluran District Police Chief Supt Kasim Muda.
The three fishermen were not harmed, and there was no kidnapping because they were all freed as soon as the suspects got a sum of money. The money was allegedly meant to keep the three from facing charges for trespassing into Philippine seas.
The suspects allegedly detained the three before negotiating with their employer over the phone.
“The matter is being probed for extortion under Section 384 of the Penal Code,” said Kasim.