Pulau Gaya shooting: Victim had a brawl with suspect before being shot

It started with a brawl before the shooting at Kampung Lok Urai in Pulau Gaya took place on Wednesday. - STR / JUWAN RIDUAN

By Olivia Miwil - February 7, 2020 @ 12:18pm

KOTA KINABALU: It started with a brawl before the shooting at Kampung Lok Urai in Pulau Gaya took place on Wednesday.

District police chief Assistant Commissioner Habibi Majinji said the 36-year-old victim, who was on a bridge, was having a shouting match with the suspect, who was on a boat.

“The victim had challenged the suspect, shouting ‘if you dare, you come’, before he was shot at from 10 to 15 metres," he said, adding that the motive was likely due to personal matters.

Habibi was speaking to reporters at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Gaya, which saw the appointment of 100 prefects.

The victim, he said, had yet to give his full cooperation to police as he was still being treated at the hospital for his injuries.

In the same shooting incident, two children, aged three and 10, were also injured with one child believed to have been shot in the back and the other in the abdomen.

Habibi added that police had also issued the suspect's photo, urging the public to come forward for any information about the man.

Since the incident, police had mounted cut-off points in the area identified as the suspect’s hideout in a bid to prevent his escape.

The team involved in the operation comprises members of the district criminal investigation division, Sabah police headquarters’ special investigation unit, and the marine police.

Habibi said the integrated operation was also to hunt down others involved in other criminal activities.

On the development of viral video of a group of secondary school students harassing a boy, Habibi confirmed that the police were aware of it.

"So far, we have yet to receive any police reports about it. We are hoping the school will contact us and clarify whether the incident has really taken place," he said.

Habibi called on relevant stakeholders in the education sector to help the authorities in preventing bullying cases at schools.