Same device used in Philippines?
Chances are the weapon used by vandals to create terror in the city and Penampang by shooting at glass walls of business premises around midnight last Friday was a home-made device widely used in the Philippines, especially during festive seasons like the New Year celebration, as well as for protection.
Called the Boga, it is basically a crude firearm using gas to fire a marble or ball bearing at high velocity and notorious among young hoodlums in villages (Barangays) over there.
Daily Express was alerted on the matter by a source in the Zamboanga Today newspaper, who said the weapon had been binned there since 2006 after scores of innocent people ended up being hurt.
"In the Philippines, where most areas banned fireworks, people turn to the Boga for noise making," the source said.
The Boga fetches between 1,500 pesos and 3,000 pesos (about RM100-300) depending on design and workmanship.
He said initially Bogas were made using bamboo or PVC pipes or even sardinecans, the firepower provided when a lighter ignites alcohol or spirit making the Boga "fire" like a real cannon.
The source said, however, that irresponsible people started modifying the weapon by making it similar to an Armalite riffle, M-14,.45 calibre revolver, etc.
Also, initially used for hunting animals, it began to be used as a protection device by homes when the peace and order condition deteriorated in Mindanao, especially in recent years.
He said the number of Bogas in Zamboanga City is now out of control with even reports of murders linked to use of this device.
Meanwhile, a paintball sport pioneer in Sabah, Miguel Aaron, ruled out the possibility of air rifles being the weapon simply because not only are such devices illegal in Malaysia - it is also impossible for paintball markers to inflict damage similar to that caused to the glass panels in the rampage.
Aaron, the founder of Splatzone Paintball Academy, also said based on the damage caused to the various premises, the weapon used could be home-made airguns or PVC Airguns or alcohol guns or Bogas that are common in the Philippines."
"It can be made with just plastic PVC and industrial compressed air," said Aaron, who is President of Sabah Paintball League Cup, which he claimed is the only official paintball league cup Sabah co-organised paintball cup in Sabah coorganised with the Youth and Sports Department.
According to him, the airgun powered by alcohol or spirit is similar to what "the foreigners in Pulau Gaya have at home since it is very simple and cheap (not more than RM100) to construct.
"From what I see, the impact to the damaged glass was shot from a ball bearing or "marble which traveled around 450-500 feet per second.
"However, Paintball markers can only shoot paintballs, not marble or anything solid because the plastic hammer will break. Even then, the paintball only travels around 190 feet per second to 280 feet per second," he said. "Anything more than that will potentially break the bolt and damage the oring inside the marker." he said.
He said an air rifle is an illegal gun in Malaysia and it shoots ball bearings, the impact of which could kill small animal like birds, cats and squirrels.
"I do not rule out the possibility of air rifle being used but because of the difficulty in getting one, I think those 'teenagers' made their own homemade guns because it is cheaper and easier with the material available in hardware shops.
"Air rifles are mostly smuggled via the Indonesian-Kalimantan border or via Philippines-sandakan and can cost RMl,00-RM2,000 per gun compared to the homemade gun which costs only RM100 to make."
Sabah Paintball Association President Vickie Chua, when contacted, concurred with Aaron, saying paintballs shot from paintball markers would also leave visible colour stains and gelatin shells.
"The paintball pellets are made from gelatin and it is discharged from a paintball gun that has to be completed with an air tank," she said, adding that the paintball is 0.68 caliber.
A paintball marker is the equipment used in the paintball sport and it enables the paintball to shoot through the barrel at a muzzle velocity of approximately 300 feet per second (91 meter per second). No paintball pellets can be shot without air tank.
"The velocity is sufficient for most paintballs to break-upon impact at a distance, but not so fast as to cause tissue damage beyond mild bruising.
"Nearly every commercial field has and strictly enforces a rule limiting the muzzle velocity of a paintball at or below 300 feet per second," she said.
She said currently all the paintball associations and clubs in Malaysia are trying to make the paintball sports legitimate and have cooperated with the police, Home Affairs Ministry and the National Sports Commission.
" We have handed our paintball markers to the police after they announced that all paintball field operators need to must apply permits for their fields and markers under the Firearms Act 1960," she said, adding that the date of surrendering non-permit markers was on Dec. 25 last year.
"This is particularly since Malaysia has been the host for the Paintball World Cup Asia for quite some years and has been officially held in Langkawi since 2011," she said.
All paintball players have to register as a member in their respective associations and clubs registered under the National Sports Commission.
Currently there are several associations and clubs in Sabah that have been registered under Persatuan Paintball Negeri Sabah, Persatuan Paintball Ranau, Persatuan Paintball Sandakan, Kelab Paintball Bornei Kota Kinabalu, Kelab Sukan Paintball Tribe-X Kota Kinabalu, Kelab Paintball Black Hawk Sierra Tawau.
Sabah Commissioner Police Datuk Hamza Taib when contacted said that about 54 paintball markers were surredered to the Labuan Police Chief so far.
Extracted from Daily Express
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