Malaysia court to try 7 suspected Somali pirates

A Malaysian court on Monday ruled it has jurisdiction to try seven Somali suspected pirates accused of firing at Malaysian forces in the Gulf of Aden in January 2011. One of the accused had argued that the case could not be tried in Malaysia as the incident had happened in outside of its territory and jurisdiction. High Court judge Kamardin Hashim however rejected the argument, saying Malaysia's attorney general's sanction to prosecute the suspects was legal and set Tuesday as the opening date for the trial. Kamardin upheld the prosecution's argument that the incident had amounted to a threat to national security since shots were fired at Malaysian security forces. The suspects are to be tried on charges of violating Malaysia's Firearms Act which carries a maximum penalty of death. The suspects allegedly boarded the Malaysian-operated chemical tanker MT Bunga Laurel, armed with guns on January 20, 2011 in the sea some 600 kilometres off Muscat, Oman. Commandos from a Royal Malaysian Navy auxiliary ship, who were tasked to protect Malaysia's interests in the area, stormed the tanker a few hours later and a shootout ensued. The commandos overpowered the pirates and brought them to Kuala Lumpur to face trial. The tanker was carrying lubricating oil and ethylene dichloride and was on its way to Singapore at the time.