A 28-year-old Indonesian man was shot dead by the police when he flashed a sword after he allegedly trying to break into a house near Lahad Datu early yesterday.

Lahad Datu police chief Nasri Mansor said the suspect was shot dead when he tried to attack one of the officers with a sword during an operation at Palm Heights at 3.40am yesterday.

He was believed earlier to have attempted to break into a house in the area.

“The police, who were patrolling the housing estate, stumbled upon the suspect, dressed in dark clothes, with a mask and flashing a sword, in an oil palm area near the housing estate. 

"They chased after him, but he refused to surrender,” Nasri told a press conference yesterday.

When a police officer approached him, the suspect acted aggressively by striking his sword. The officer then fired shots at the suspect's chest to defend himself.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene by a medical team from Lahad Datu Hospital, he added.

Apart from a 74cm sword and a mask, Nasri said no identification documents were found on the suspect, but a facial recognition found that the suspect, who was known as Mohd Rahmat, had been convicted of entering the country illegally in 2017.

The suspect was sentenced to six months in prison and three strokes of the rotan by the court, and had been ordered to return to his country.

"However, the suspect is believed to have illegally entered Malaysia again," he said.

Nasri said with the death of the suspect, Lahad Datu police had solved 13 cases of robbery and house break-ins by the suspect.

He urged family members of the suspect to identify the suspect and to assist them in completing their investigations.

- Bernama