3 Pinoy teens die in Sabah raid

MANILA, Philippines - Three Filipino teenagers died during a Malaysian immigration operation in Lahad Datu in Sabah on Saturday.

They were identified as Nordin Akang, 16; Lahudin Nasir, 17; and Alex Nasir, 18, of Kampung Bakau, Lahad Datu.

The Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur said the three died during an operation of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) against undocumented individuals at the Lahad Datu public market.

“The Philippine embassy is deeply concerned about this turn of events, and even as the cause of the deaths of the three Filipinos, two of whom are minors, is being investigated, the embassy calls for humane treatment of undocumented individuals, including the manner by which operations are conducted,” the embassy said in a statement.

A three-person team from the embassy was dispatched to Lahad Datu to look into the deaths of the three Filipinos.

On Sunday afternoon, the team met the next-of-kin of the three brothers.

The team conferred yesterday morning with ESSCOM and police authorities.

“The team has asked for a full, impartial investigation, and to be furnished a copy of any police report,” the embassy said.

Followers of the late Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III arrived on Feb. 11, 2013 by motorboat in Sabah and entered a town in Lahad Datu that surprised the Malaysian and Philippine governments and resulted in conflict with Malaysian security forces.

Malaysian security forces and around 200 Filipinos were locked in a standoff in the isolated coastal village.

The men, led by the sultan’s brother Raja Muda Agbimuddin, pressed their ancestral claim to an area of northern Borneo that the Philippines has been claiming since independence of Malaysia.

The Philippines sought the assurance of Malaysian authorities that the rights of Filipinos permanently residing in Sabah are respected.

Malaysia declared on March 1, 2013 that the standoff between the followers of Kiram and Malaysian authorities in Sabah was over with the arrest of his 10 supporters and the wounding of four others.