KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia: A massive manhunt is underway for five men who broke into the home of Tawau acting police chief Supt Ramli Ali Mat before stabbing him early Saturday.

Supt Ramli was alone at his Taman Ria 5 house in this Sabah east coast district when the intruders broke in at about 2am.

He was stabbed once in the left abdomen after he challenged the intruders. Despite his injury, he managed to alert the Tawau district police headquarters on his walkie-talkie.

Police rushed to the house and Supt Ramli was taken to the Tawau General Hospital and admitted into the intensive care unit there.

When contacted, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said Supt Ramli, who took over as acting Tawau OCPD about a month ago, was in stable condition.

He said police believe the motive of the incident was robbery and had nothing to do with revenge or other factors.

Supt Ramli was said to be alone at home at the time of the incident as his family were in the peninsula for a holiday.

His wife Julie Gatausa and their 23-year-old son Fazli rushed back to Tawau after being informed of the incident.

When met at the Tawau hospital after visiting his father, Fazli said a laptop computer was found missing from their house. --The Star / Asia News Network