BALINGIAN: A 58-year-old grandmother who was mistaken for a squirrel was shot by a 24-year-old man using a home-made airgun near Rumah Juki at Jalan Sungai Lemai Kudat, here on New Year Day (Jan 1).
The victim was identified as Antan Empaw, from Rumah Jemeni Tinting, Pasir Sungai Basai here.
Mukah district police chief DSP Jimmy Panyau said the suspect, Augustine Endawin Pasang, who was unemployed and from Rumah Uloh, Nanga Kalai, Selangau had been arrested.
“A home-made airgun about 5 feet 2 inches long, a bottle containing spirit labelled Pucelle Mist Cologne, and 18 pieces of cartridges were seized from the suspect,” he said in a statement via WhatsApp last Saturday (Jan 2).
He added initial investigation found that the suspect had made a police report.
The suspect did not possess any firearm licence and the gun used in the incident was made by him about a year ago.
According to Jimmy, prior to the incident on Jan 1 at about 3pm, the suspect went fishing in Sungai Lemai, Kudat area, about 30 minutes’ walk from his father-in-law longhouse, Rumah Juki here.
About 7pm, on the way home from fishing, the suspect saw movement in the bush, which was covered by ferns at the roadside.
The suspect, who assumed the movement was from a squirrel, aimed his gun at that particular spot.
At a shooting distance of about 10 metres, the suspect fired one shot with one cartridge and suddenly heard a voice shouting in pain.
The suspect approached the sound of someone shouting in pain, and saw the victim covered with blood, coming out from bush.
The suspect, who was in shock, rushed to Rumah Juki, about 10 minutes’ walk from the site of incident, to inform his father-in-law.
According to two witnesses at Rumah Juki, before the incident, they saw the victim went out from her room at about 6pm, bringing a plastic packet containing rubbish to be thrown at the nearby longhouse.
There was no misunderstanding and no problem between suspect and the victim, who is also the suspect’s wife’s aunty.
A check at the suspect’s house found no other tools used in making the gun, while urine test also found that he was not on any drug.
The body had been brought to Mukah Hospital for post-mortem.
The suspect has been remanded from Jan 1 until Jan 6, and the case is being investigated under Section 304A of Penal Code for causing death negligently.
