Teenager stabbed to death while helping friend in a row

A foreign teenage boy was killed after being stabbed with a knife while trying to help his friend who was involved in a fight with a man at a workers' living quarters in Gunung Rara, Ladang Imbak, Jalan Kalabakan, last night.

Tawau police chief, ACP Fadil Marsus said the deceased was identified as Mahmud Kurniawan, 16, who had two stab wounds on the neck and abdomen.

He said Mahmud's friend, Isra Kurniawan, 15, was also injured in the clash and was receiving treatment at the Tawau General Hospital.

"The suspect is also a foreigner aged 20," Fadil said in a statement here yesterday.

He said police were currently on the lookout for the suspect, who fled after the incident.

Fadil said the incident was believed to have stemmed from the suspect's anger over his neice being caught in close proximity with one of the two victims.

According to him, the police was informed about the incident at around 5 am yesterday before heading to the scene, and the case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.

In another development, Fadil said the crime index in Tawau had increased by 60 per cent compared to last year, for the period between Jan 1 and Feb 14.

He said as many as 141 criminal cases were reported in the period this year, compared to just 88 cases last year, and property crimes, including car theft and burglary were among the main contributors to the increase in the crime index.

Hence, he said the police will carry out an agressive operation to combat crime and narcotics cases.