A Philippines embassy official told theSun yesterday that his officials were liaising with Wisma Putra and have met with the police.
The Philippines Air Force is expected to despatch a Hercules C-130 aircraft for the repatriation which will be carried out by the end of the week.
Lahad Datu police chief Supt Shamsuddin Mat said the bodies will be released to Philippine officials once police get word from the Criminal Investigations Department.
It is understood that pathologists at the Lahad Datu Hospital are also completing post-mortems on the 28 bodies, including that of Haji Musa Abdullah, the "general" of the Sulu intruders and a female sniper.
The army has also recovered another 34 bodies of Sulu gunmen killed by security forces at three villages in Felda Sahabat. The bodies will be sent to the hospital in batches.
Sulu chieftain Jamalul Kiram III was reported to be not keen on retrieving the bodies of the fighters who landed in Sabah with arms under his orders.
"In line with the preaching of Islam, why would we still disturb the souls and the spirits of the deceased? They are now rested in peace," the Philippine Star quoted Jamalul's spokesman Abraham Idjirani as saying.
Meanwhile, police have been tight-lipped about when the first group of 107 people detained over the past three weeks on suspicion of having links with the Sulu intruders, will face charges.
It is learnt that for security reasons, the charges are likely to be read behind closed doors at the Tawau High Court.
Charles Ramendran
mayat2 pengganas ini perlu dituntut oleh filipina.
ReplyDeleteThe bodies of 28 Sulu terrorists kept at the Lahad Datu and Tawau hospitals buried as a temporary measure pending any claim by next-of-kin, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said.
ReplyDeleteThis was to prevent any health risk and also due to the lack of room at the mortuaries at the two hospitals.
ReplyDeleteKhalid said the decision on the ‘temporary burial’ was made on Monday at a meeting attended by representatives from the Home Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister’s Department, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Royal Malaysia Police and Interpol.
ReplyDeleteKhalid said anyone from the country or abroad who wanted to claim the bodies would have to produce their DNA sample for matching purposes before the bodies were allowed to be taken away.
ReplyDelete“People from abroad who want to claim the bodies can register their intention with the Foreign Ministry while those in the country can go to the police,” he said.
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