KOTA KINABALU (The Star/Asia News Network) - A man accidentally shot and killed his 38-year-old cousin after mistaking him as game, during a hunting trip in the interior sub-district of Sook, some 150km from Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah state.
Keningau police chief Deputy Supt Ahmad Jawila said the deceased, identified as Christanius Lukas, the shooter and his father, as well as another friend, went into the forest late on Monday (July 17) with their home-made guns, locally known as Bakakuk.
They then split up to find their own targets.
However, at around noon, the cousin spotted some movement in the bush and opened fire.
When the shooter went to inspect his "kill", he was shocked to see that he had shot Christanius.
"He tried to lift the victim but was unable to, so he ran to find his father to tell him what has happened," said DSP Ahmad.
The father went to the village chief, who lodged a police report after that.
"The victim was sent to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"A post-mortem showed that he had bullet wounds in his heart, lungs, kidneys and liver," said DSP Ahmad.
He said investigations led to the discovery of two firearms, four bullets, a parang and a knife.
The suspect has been remanded and is being probed for murder.
"We will also investigate whether the bullet was sold by a licensed agent and will take necessary action on the seller if an offence has been committed," DSP Ahmad added.