The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- Case of two Malaysians detained in Lebanon to be re-mentioned on Wednesday
- Police bust gang linked to RM3.2mil smartphone heist at KLIA
- Felda: M'sian arrested in Lebanon for alleged al-Qaeda links is staff member's son
| Case of two Malaysians detained in Lebanon to be re-mentioned on Wednesday Posted: 29 Oct 2012 09:08 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The case of two Malaysians detained in Lebanon on suspicion of having ties with militant group Al-Qaeda will be rementioned at the Military Tribunal in Beirut on Wednesday. Malaysian ambassador to Lebanon, Ilango Karuppannan, said Rafik Mohd Ariffin, 28, and Mohammed Razin Shaaban, 21, were brought to the tribunal Monday on a charge of being terrorists, with connections to Al-Qaeda. Nevertheless, the charge against them did not proceed when the judge found they were unrepresented, he said when contacted at the Lebanese capital. "The judge then ordered that they engage a lawyer to defend themselves and the judge decided that the case be rementioned on Wednesday," Ilango said. Last week, the Lebanese authorities detained Rafik and Mohammed Razin at a hotel in Beirut because they were believed to be suicide bombers and suspected to have links to Al-Qaeda. Ilango said no family members of Rafik or Mohammed Razin were present at the tribunal Monday although both families were informed by Wisma Putra on their detention and that they should engage the services of lawyers. "The embassy will help in terms of getting a law firm but payment must be borne by their respective families," he said, adding that the lawyers at the legal firm picked by the embassy were studying the facts of the case. Ilango also said the families of Rafik and Mohammed Razin received the news calmly after they were told of the procedures that must be carried out. In the meantime, he said, two embassy officials had met Rafik and Mohammed Razin at the Army Tribunal Detention Centre in Beirut. "They were well and healthy. They were also properly treated," he said. Ilango said the embassy was investigating the background of the two Malaysians with the cooperation of the Lebanese Immigration to determine if they entered the country as tourists, students or professionals. Earlier reports said Lebanese authorities had detained the two men last week as they were believed to have connections with Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, Bukit Aman said based on investigations and surveillance carried out, no trace of Al-Qaeda movement has been found. Bukit Aman Special Task Force director Datuk Mohamed Fuzi Harun said police have not received any information of Al-Qaeda presence in the country or any recruitment activity to join the group. "We have not come across any Al-Qaeda activities but we cannot disregard such activities (recruitment) conducted by neighbouring countries," he said. Rafik's father Mohd Ariffin Abdullah meanwhile, when contacted, said he was still waiting for details with regard to his son's detention in Lebanon. Mohammed Razin's mother Sharifah Asma said she did not know how her son was detained for his alleged involvement with Al-Qaeda. She said her son lived in Malacca and studied in Trolak, Perak while she and her husband lived in Putrajaya. "I used to call him regularly but did not know he had gone to Lebanon and was involved with the group," she said. - Bernama |
| Police bust gang linked to RM3.2mil smartphone heist at KLIA Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:43 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Police have busted a gang linked to a heist involving 1,407 Samsung Galaxy Note II smartphones at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on Oct 20. This follows the arrest of 13 suspects, including the alleged mastermind, behind the theft of the smartphones worth about RM3.23mil at MAS Kargo's storage area. The suspects, aged between 22 and 43, comprise four women and nine men. Bukit Aman CID (commercial crime) director Datuk Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said one of the suspects, aged 42, surrendered at the Sepang police headquarters Monday. He said the police, acting on a tip-off, mounted an operation on Oct 23 and nabbed the suspects at 11 locations in the MAS Kargo area, housing areas in Nilai, Puchong and Sepang, and an electronics shop in Bukit Bintang here. "Following the arrests, the police recovered 71 smartphones while the rest were being traced," he told a media conference here. On Oct 20, a group disguised as transport company representatives staged a heist at the MAS Kargo storage area and made off with the smartphones in a lorry, believed to have been stolen in Brickfields, two days earlier. Syed Ismail said initial investigations revealed that the alleged mastermind was a staff member of a transport service company with "inside information" on the smartphones. According to him, one of the female suspects had allegedly bought 80 units of the smartphones for RM104,000, which were believed to have been sold to the public for RM1,850 each. Meanwhile, Syed Ismail said the police were looking for four people to facilitate investigations into the heist. They are U. Chalan, 23, whose last known address was No: 17, Jalan Chekor off Jalan Klang Lama; N. Selvakumar, 32, of PT10642, Taman Desa Cempaka, Nilai, Negri Sembilan; and siblings J. Aravindan, 29, and Pratib, of No: 7745, Taman Desa Jasmin 2, Badar Baru Nilai in Negri Sembilan. - Bernama |
| Felda: M'sian arrested in Lebanon for alleged al-Qaeda links is staff member's son Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:31 AM PDT KUANTAN: Felda clarified Monday that one of the two Malaysians arrested in Lebanon for alleged links to the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation was the son of a staff member and not of a settler. Its chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad, said Mohammed Razin Shaaban, 28, was the son of a Felda employee and had studied at the Felda Foundation College in Trolak, Perak. "He only studied there for 10 months. His father informed us that Mohammed Razin got a job with the Farmers Organisation Authority (LPP) in Malacca and left the college," he told reporters after launching the "Jelajah Transformasi Komuniti" (Community Transformation Tour) programme in Felda Bukit Goh, here. It was reported that Mohammed Razin and Rafik Mohammed Aaref, 21, suspected to have been trained as suicide bombers, were detained by army intelligence in Lebanon over suspected links to al-Qaeda. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman had said that the duo were brought to the military court in Beirut on Oct 25. On the trial, Mohd Isa said: "We will wait for the outcome of the trial and see how we can assist." - Bernama |
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