'Temporary burial' for 28 slain Kiram followers prepared — report

Malaysian authorities are planning a "temporary burial" for at least 28 followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, who were killed in clashes with Malaysian security forces in past weeks. Deputy police Inspector General Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said the move was due to lack of space at morgues in Lahad Datu and Tawau in Sabah, New Straits Times reported Wednesday noon. Meanwhile, a body believed to be that of another Kiram follower was found in the area where clashes had taken place. "Postmortems have been completed on all the bodies and temporary burials will be conducted for health reasons," Khalid said. He said the decision stemmed from a meeting Monday among officials of the home and foreign ministries, International Police Organization (Interpol), Malaysian police, and the Attorney-General's Chambers. Khalid said Malaysian authorities had extracted DNA samples from the 28 bodies, which can be matched with samples from their respective families in the Philippines. "If the DNA samples are a match, then the body will be released to the next-of-kin for burial," Khalid said. The Malaysian Foreign Ministry will handle the arrangements for this, he said. Last Friday, a report on Malaysia's state-run Bernama news agency quoted Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib as saying the Philippines had three days to respond to Malaysia's official communication to claim the bodies. "If there is no response in three days, we will go ahead and bury the dead," he said at the time. Malaysia had said at least 62 Kiram supporters and 10 security forces had been killed since armed clashes broke out in Sabah last March 1. Deadly clashes on March 1 and 2 prompted Malaysia to start offensive operations in Sabah March 5 to flush out Kiram's supporters. 15 buried Earlier, a New Straits Times report said the bodies of 15 Kiram followers had been buried in Sabah as these were decomposing. Meanwhile, The New Straits Times also reported a body believed to be that of another Kiram follower was found in the area where clashes had taken place. Army chief Gen. Tan Sri Zulkefli Mohd Zin said security forces found the body of the follower who may have been dead since March 6, the New Straits Times report said. On the other hand, a temporary Magistrate's Court was set up at the Lahad Datu police headquarters for the filing of charges against more than 100 people linked to the Kiram followers. Khalid said 256 suspects have been detained for various offenses, while 108 have been held for supposedly violating Security Offences (Special Measures) Act of 2012. — LBG, GMA News