DFA probes deaths of 3 Filipino teens in Sabah

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is probing the deaths of three Filipino teenagers who died in Sabah after Malaysian authorities launched a raid on undocumented individuals.

The DFA said that the three Filipinos, who were siblings, were suffocated when they hid from authorities in a narrow space at the central market where the crackdown was launched. The three were rushed to the hospital but were declared dead on arrival.

“A three-person team from the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur was dispatched to Lahad Datu to look into the deaths of three Filipino youths during an operation conducted by the Eastern Sabah Security Command against undocumented individuals at the Lahad Datu public market last Saturday, March 21,” foreign affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

Jose said the consulate team had met the next-of-kin of the three victims who were identified as Nording Akang, 16; Lahudin Nasir, 17, and Alex Nasir, 18, of Kampung Bakau, Lahad Datu.

“The team has asked for a full, impartial investigation, and to be furnished a copy of any police report,” Jose said.

In a statement, Vice President Jejomar Binay said he shared the DFA’s call “for a full and impartial investigation by the concerned Malaysian authorities.”

“The Philippine government is concerned about the treatment of Filipinos abroad, regardless of their work status,” Binay said on Friday.

“Our countrymen risk leaving their homes and families to live and work decently abroad, and even as we respect the laws of the countries they are in we nonetheless ask that they be treated humanely,” he said.

Binay urged overseas Filipino workers to go through “the proper and legal channels” to ensure that they have the government’s protection and “to avoid becoming victims of trafficking and illegal recruitment syndicates.” RC