Fatal Song shooting: Two men arrested, police say soldier mistaken for wild animal

Dato Mancha Ata

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Sept 25: The police today has clarified that the gunshot which resulted in the death of a soldier in Song on Monday (Sept 23), was fired by illegal hunters who had mistaken him as a wild animal.

Sarawak Commissioner of Police Dato Mancha Ata said a special investigation squad has arrested two local men, both aged 31, and confiscated a shotgun and seed type ammunition.

“Both suspects were found carrying out illegal hunting activity and one of them had fired a shot towards the victim who was mistaken as a wild animal.

“An application for remand custody will be made on both suspects in court,” he said in a statement today.

The case is being classified as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

“The police are still continuing the investigation from various angles to complete the investigation papers,” he added.

On Sept 23, around 6am, the police received a report over an army personnel who was shot while undergoing training at a forest near Jalan Multipass Link, Song.

The shooting incident was estimated to have happened around 2.45am on the same day.

The 29-year-old male corporal who was injured in the waist and left thigh, was then rushed to Kapit Hospital for treatment.

However, the victim was pronounced dead at 7.43am on the same day.

A postmortem found that the cause of death was due to the gunshot wound on the back left side of the victim’s body.

The police are also reminding the public to not speculate about the incident. Any information related to the incident may be channeled directly to investigating officer ASP Balie Jelian at 011-10702264, 084-777545 or the nearest police station. — DayakDaily