Tawau Police chief ACP Fadil Marsus said the father and son, aged 51 and 25, were arrested on Dec 30 last year and remanded for five days.
According to Fadil, the men’s vehicle, a Toyota Single Cab which was also seized by the police, had long been identified by the forestry department to have been used for poaching activities in the Tawau area.
“On Dec 26 at around 5pm, 11 forestry department personnel set up a roadblock at Gate B, Ladang Empayar Kejora in Jalan Luasong Keramat, Tawau in an operation to hunt down poachers.
“At around 6.30pm on the same day, the suspects came through the roadblock in the Toyota Single Cab vehicle where they were stopped for inspection.
“However, while they were being inspected, suddenly the driver reversed the car, hitting two vehicles owned by the forestry department before escaping,” he said.
Fadil said the forestry department team gave chase and one of the suspects who was sitting on the passenger seat started to throw various objects from the car, including tyres, a torchlight, a spanner and even clothing.
The duo managed to flee despite being chased for more than 10km.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team managed to arrest both suspects on Dec 30 in Jalan Quinn Hill in Tawau. However, further inspection of their house found no incriminating evidence.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Chief Conservator of Forest Sam Mannan said the department suffered only minor damage to their vehicles but confirmed that the men had also caused damage to the gate at the estate where the roadblock was conducted.
“We leave it to the police to investigate,” he said without commenting any further.
According to the Sabah forestry department officials, poaching in Sabah has reached pandemic proportions. They said this is because poaching is now not just for personal consumption but for trade as it is a lucrative export.
The poachers, often masked, are also said to be armed with most likely, illegal and unregistered guns.
Although forestry department staff are also armed, they say this is purely for self-protection and they are reluctant to use it on the poachers.
Wildlife Dept: Sabah won’t be major transit point for illegal wildlife trade
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