KOTA KINABALU: Two Malaysians and a Chinese national, arrested for alleged spying activities at the shared border island of Sebatik, were deported back to Sabah a month ago, according to news reports out of Kalimantan.
The reports, quoting Indonesia's Nunukan Immigration office head Washington Saut Dompak, said the three were deported on Aug 13 after being cleared of any espionage activities.
The two Malaysians – a 39-year-old resident of Tawau, a Kota Kinabalu-based 45-year-old engineer – and a 40-year-old Chinese national working as a manager for a Chinese construction firm here were arrested on July 20.
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They were investigated for alleged spying when Indonesian security personnel found photographs of the naval base in Nunukan in one of their handphones.
All three had entered the border town legally from Tawau.
Washington said the three men claimed they were looking at a possible bridge construction project from Tawau to Sebatik, an island shared by Malaysia and Indonesia.
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They also told the authorities that they did not know that one of the locations they photographed was a security installation, he added.
"After joint investigations with several agencies, there is no evidence that any acts of espionage were carried out by the three men," Washington told TribunalKaltara.com.
It was then decided to deport them under immigration laws, he added.
