1 killed, 11 from southern PHL arrested off Sabah after boat chase – report

A boatman was killed and at least 11 people aboard a boat from the southern Philippines were arrested after a chase with police off Sabah Saturday, a Malaysian news site reported Sunday.
 
Sabah police, who chased the boat off the east coast of Sandakan, suspect it was trying to sneak in undocumented workers from the southern Philippines, Malaysia's Star Online reported.
 
The report quoted Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman as saying the boat capsized after it collided with the police vessel.
 
Jalaluddin said the boatman died while 11 people, one of them an infant, were taken into custody.
 
He said those rescued included four males and five females aged between 12 and 25, and the infant. The boatman's body was recovered from the capsized vessel.
 
Jalaluddin said six personnel from the General Operations Force Tiger Platoon unit were patrolling Pulau Berhala when they saw the vessel from Taganak island at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
 
When the police ordered the boatman to stop, he allegedly tried to speed toward Taganak, triggering the chase.
 
But the boat hit the police vessel and capsized, throwing everyone overboard. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

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