KOTA KINABALU: A group of armed men fired shots at a tugboat in Pegasus Reef waters off Kinabatangan, yesterday, injuring the boat skipper.
In the 8pm incident, the Mantran 2 tugboat with 13 crew members on board was travelling from Bintulu, Sarawak towards Papua New Guinea.
The crew members comprised of two Malaysians and 11 Indonesians.
It is learnt that the armed group was travelling in a black boat and they were armed with long rifles believed to be M16.
The group approached the tugboat and fired random shots towards it before fleeing
Eastern Sabah Security Commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali said one of the bullets hit the skipper’s thigh, while other crew members were unhurt.
“The skipper, in his 40s, was taken to the Tambisan public jetty in Lahad Datu and was sent to the Lahad Datu Hospital for treatment. He is reported stable,” he said.
Hazani said all crew members and the tugboat were escorted to the Lahad Datu marine jetty, adding that Esscom is investigating the incident to identify the motive.