ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 6, 2014) – Malaysian authorities said gunmen snatched early Tuesday a Chinese fish farm manager in Lahad Datu town in Sabah and clashed briefly with pursuing patrol before disappearing into the southern Philippines.
The abduction came at a time Filipino authorities were also searching for two German yachters who disappeared at sea off Palawan province. Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and his companion, Herike Diesen, 55, have been reported missing after fishermen spotted their empty yacht.
Malaysia’s The Star Online also reported the incident and said at least 5 armed men on a speedboat intruded into the Wonderful Terrace and seized the 34-year Yang Zai Lin after he came out to check the commotion at the farm.
The report said the gunmen, clad in military uniform, first held the farm’s security guard and then captured Yang when he came out. The assailants then sped off leaving the guard behind. It was not immediately known whether the gunmen are members of the Abu Sayyaf group or local gang members and Filipino criminals based in Sabah, but with links to the dreaded militant group.
Reports said Yang is a native of Guangzhou, but the Chinese Consulate in Kuching in Malaysia claimed Yang is from Guizhou province in southwest China. The latest abduction has forced Sabah authorities to declare curfew and travel restrictions in several areas there.
It was unknown how the gunmen managed to sneak into Lahad Datu undetected despite a previous raid by Abu Sayyaf militants in Singamata Adventures and Reef Resort in the town of Semporna also in Sabah on April 2.
The raiders kidnapped a 29-year old Chinese holidaymaker Gao Huayun and Filipina resort worker Marcy Dayawan, who are now being held captive by the Abu Sayyaf under Alhabsi Misaya in Mount Taran in Sulu province in southern Philippines. The kidnappers were demanding RM36.4 million in ransom for the release of the Shanghai woman.
Philippine authorities said the German adventurers were heading to Sabah after from a holiday in Palawan when they disappeared on April 25. There were reports that they had been taken captive by the Abu Sayyaf, however no Philippine officials would confirm this.
The disappearance of the Germans coincided with reports by Malaysian authorities that it had foiled a new attempt by kidnappers from the southern Philippines to intrude into Sabah.
Eastern Sabah Security Command Director-General Datuk Mohammad Mentek said the presence of security personnel prevented the intrusion, but it was unclear if the Abu Sayyaf was involved in the latest attempt to cross into the border.
The Malaysian news agency Bernama reported that the tight security in Sabah prevented the entry of lawless elements through Semporna. Malaysia also sent security officials to Sulu to work closely with the authorities over there for the safe release of the two Singamata hostages.
The Abu Sayyaf was largely blamed for the daring raid on the posh Pulau Sipadan resort in 2000 where they kidnapped 21 people and ransomed them off to Malaysia and Libya for at least $25 million.
In November last year, the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped a Taiwanese tourist Chang An Wei, 58, after killing her husband Hsu Li Min, 57, in a daring cross-border raid in Sabah’s Pom Pom Island. The woman was eventually released a month later near the village of Liban in Talipao town in Sulu after paying ransom.
The Abu Sayyaf has resorted to ransom kidnappings to raise money for the purchase weapons and fund terror attacks in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
20