Timugon.com

Two Tenom-based policemen have been selling police firearms to locals in the Sabah interior district without being detected for some time.

They have sold at least 30 various types of firearms since they started their illegal activity. Both men in their 30s and 40s and holding the rank of Lans Korporal were arrested earlier this week.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said their illegal activity had been going on for some time but police only detected it a few months ago following an audit of the Tenom police station weapons store. ‘Our early investigations show that a policeman, in his 30s, who was in charge of the weapons store was the main person responsible for the sale of the firearms,’ he said.

27 people who purchased the weapons from the two policemen have been detained. They included farmers, government staff and teachers. Police believe the weapons were purchased to be used for hunting and guarding farms, he said, adding that they were not meant for criminal activities. Most of those who bought the weapons were unaware that doing so was an offence.

Those who purchased the weapons are liable to a jail sentence of up to seven years. There are 27 weapons seized and several more that have yet to be accounted for.