GEORGE TOWN, Feb 15 — The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is conducting an internal investigation into the standard operating procedures (SOP) on the use of firearms in the Tanjung Rhu incident in January, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today.
He added that the police are also investigating whether any violations occurred in the execution of duties during the incident.
“The investigation is being conducted in two phases: first, an internal probe by the MMEA, and second, a thorough police investigation to determine if there were any violations in the execution of duties,” he said after officiating the MMEA’s 20th anniversary celebrations at Karpal Singh Drive this morning.
Saifuddin said MMEA officers often face life-threatening situations in the course of their duties.
“For example, in this shooting case, they had to assess the situation in the middle of the sea under dark conditions at 3am,” he said.
“We can only fully understand the situation if we put ourselves in their position,” he added.
He noted that while the actions taken were in response to the situation, they must still adhere to SOPs, including firearm use and other protocols.
“All of this is currently under investigation by the police and MMEA,” he said.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the foreign nationals involved in the incident were linked to migrant smuggling activities.
“The police investigation is ongoing, and an individual who acted as a ‘transporter’ was arrested a few days after the incident,” he said.
Preliminary findings suggest the case may be related to migrant smuggling, he added.
“So, the police will also investigate it under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (ATIPSOM),” he said, adding that migrant smuggling is a serious crime under the Act.
“I will provide further updates to the media from time to time,” he said.
It was previously reported that five Indonesian men, including one who was killed, were shot in the waters off Tanjung Rhu, Banting, Selangor, after allegedly ramming a patrol boat and attacking MMEA officers in January.
Initial investigations found that the suspects’ boat collided with the patrol vessel four times before two of them attempted to attack the officers with machetes.
The officers were believed to have fired several shots in self-defence.
