"Following today's high court conviction, nine of the Filipinos face an option of death sentence or life in prison. The court will make a decision on Tuesday," N. Sivananthan, counsel for the Filipino militants, told AFP. Sivananthan said the three Malaysians and five remaining Filipinos face up to 30 years in prison. The court decision was made inside a tightly secured prison building in the resource-rich Sabah state capital Kota Kinabalu. Clashes between the gunmen and Malaysian forces, who launched a ground and air attack on their hideout, led to at least 70 deaths, mostly of militants.

Source: Bangkok Post July 25, 2016 13:41 UTC