| Three Who Died In Drifting Boat Are Not Malaysians |
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By Mohd Nasir Yusoff
JAKARTA, Nov 2 (Bernama) - The Indonesian police have confirmed with the Malaysian Embassy here that the 11 people, including three who died, who were adrift for eight days in the Sulawesi Sea were not Malaysian citizens.
The embassy's Charge d'affairs ad interim Amran Mohamed Zain said he received the confirmation from the police in Tolitoli, Central Sulawesi, where the passengers were taken after they were saved by a local fishing boat at 10am yesterday.
"The police who we contacted to get further information (on the passengers), confirmed that they were not Malaysian citizens because there was not a single document to show they were Malaysians.
"Instead, initial police investigation showed that they were citizens of a neighbouring country who were on their way to Tawi-Tawi Island in the Philippines," he told Bernama here.
A report from Tolitoli by Antara news agency stated that the passengers were Filipino workers in Malaysia who were returning to the Philippines from Lahad Datu, Sabah.
A spokesman for Tolitoli local authority, Kaharuddin, was quoted as saying that the passengers were taken to the Tolitoli Hospital for treatment, but it was not stated whether the three who died had been buried.
North Dampal Sub-District secretary, Ilham, was quoted as saying that the adult passengers were illegal immigrants in Malaysia and that their boat went adrift when it ran out of petrol after fleeing from the Malaysian authorities.
Initial report on the incident yesterday stated that the 11 passengers were believed to be Malaysians and this prompted the Malaysian Embassy here to check their identities.
-- BERNAMA
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