Chinese tourists detained at Malaysia airport for possessing live bullets

KOTA KINABALU — Police have detained a group of Chinese tourists after they were found to have brought live bullets in their baggage at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, on Tuesday (Nov 8).

District police chief Assistant Commisioner Habibi Majinji said the tourists, aged between 50 and 70, were stopped during airport security inspection, as they were returning home.

According to him, the tourists claimed to have found the bullets at the Tanjung Aru beach in Kota Kinabalu on Monday and decided to take them as souvenirs.

"They were detained for questioning and were later allowed to fly home after the police had recorded their statement.

"During interrogation, they claimed no one had informed them that possession of ammunition such as bullets is against the law in this country," he told reporters.

Mr Habibi said the incident showed many tourists were not exposed to the nation's law and culture.

To address this issue, Mr Habibi suggested that a dialogue programme between the police and tourism players be held to educate tourists on the do’s and don'ts.

"Tour operators can also assist police in channeling any information or problem involving tourists.

"As an example, a group of tourists was recently harassed by a bus conductor while crossing the road at Bandaran Berjaya.

"Although there is no action that can be taken against the bus conductor, police can come in and give advice or conduct a urine test to find out whether a person is under the influence of drugs," he added.

Mr Habibi also noted that the Bukit Aman police headquarters had recently suggested placing at least four personnel at each police station to monitor tourism-related activities, ahead of the Visit Malaysia 2020 tourism campaign. NEW STRAITS TIMES