Whatsapp message about Sandakan intrusion false, says ESSCom

The Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) has urged the public not to believe the Whatsapp audio message that went viral yesterday, purportedly about an intrusion in Sandakan.

ESSCom Commander DCP Datuk Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid dismissed the message as totally false.

"Nothing had happened as viralised in the audio. The public should disregard the whataspp message," he told Bernama when contacted today.

He also dismissed the possibility that a training exercise conducted by ESSCom could have been misinterpreted to be an intrusion.

"We did not conduct any training... There had not been any intrusion. For all the confusion, we were also forced to verify with the district police," he said.

He assured the public not to panic, saying they could always contact ESSCom's operations centre (089-863181) or the nearest police station to obtain credible information.

Yesterday, a man claimed in an audio recording sent through whatsapp which went viral, that ESSCom had given a warning to the public against going out to the town or beach because of an intrusion at an (oil palm) factory.

The man also claimed that he and his fellow workers including lorry drivers were instructed to stay put at their 'IOI' factory. -- BERNAMA