ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 19, 2012) – Two Malaysian nationals were seized by 5 gunmen disguised as policemen from a palm oil plantation in Sabah near the Philippine border, reports said.
It said the two, who are cousins, were both working for the plantation in Lahad Datu, and had been taken at gunpoint last week. Their companions said the gunmen spoke in Malayu and Tausug, a dialect commonly used in the southern provinces of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.
There were no immediate reports whether the foreigners are being held in either of the two provinces.
Malaysian media reported that the gunmen and their hostages fled on a speed boat painted blue and white and headed out to international waters.
It also quoted Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib as saying the captives had been taken out of Malaysia. “We have identified the victims’ whereabouts. We have a rough idea where they are. They may be out of Malaysian waters,” Hamza said.
Hamza said the kidnappers have not contacted any of the victims’ families or relatives.
In 2010, suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels kidnapped Malaysian seaweed farmers Vui Chung, 42, and Lai Wing Chau, 33, in Sabah’s Semporna town near Lahad Datu and ransomed them off for 2 million ringgits.
Rebels also kidnapped 21 Western tourists from Sabah’s island resort of Sipadan in 2001 and were freed months later after Libya and Malaysia paid huge ransoms to the Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner)
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