ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 14, 2014) – The Philippine military said kidnappers have freed the 27-year old son of a gas station owner in Zamboanga City after 11 days in captivity.
It said Michael Kho was released in the village of Labuan and was fetched by her family and members of the police anti-kidnapping task force. Kho was brought by her parents to the hospital for medical check up.
Kidnappers seized Kho at the family’s Petron gas station in Zamboanga del Norte’s Siocon town on April 2. It was unknown how much ransom was paid by his family in exchange for his freedom, but his release came a week after police arrested Omar Wahab in the village of Bucana in Siocon town.
The 25-year old man was implicated in the kidnapping of Kho. Inspector Dahlan Samuddin, a regional police spokesman, said witnesses pointed to Wahab as one of those who acted as lookout during the kidnapping.
It was not immediately known whether Wahab is a member of any rebel groups operating in Zamboanga provinces which is a known lair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. (Mindanao Examiner)
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