Malaysian Court Acquits 11 Pinoys from Standoff Cases
The High Court of Kota Kinabalu ordered dropping of the cases against 11 Filipinos accused of waging war against Malaysia for lack of evidence.
However, 16 others were ordered to present evidence in their defense.
The Filipinos were also accused of being members of a terrorist group, supporting acts of terrorists and soliciting property as commission for terrorist acts.
The criminal charges were filed following their arrest in a standoff that lasted days in Lahad Datu in 2013.
As reported by the Manila Times, the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said Judge Stephen Chung found no apparent evidence against the 11 accused and ordered the dropping of the charges against them.
The court gave the prosecution 14 days to file an appeal on the dismissal of the charges. If no appeal is filed, 10 of the 11 acquitted will be released and sent home. One of the 11, Totoh bin Hismullah, may remain in Malaysia as he had been found by the Court to be a Malaysian citizen and no longer a Filipino.
A verdict on the culpability, if any, of the 16 remaining accused will be rendered when the defense has completed the presentation of its evidence, which is expected to begin later this month.
The Filipinos were represented by Malaysian lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan, who was hired by the Philippine government.