Two Indonesian fishermen were  kidnapped while fishing in the waters off Merabung near Kunak on Saturday night.

In the 7.30pm incident, boat skipper Saparuddin bin Koni, 43, and his 36-year-old assistant, Sawal bin Maryam, were reportedly abducted from their boat by a group of armed men.

According to Lahad Datu police chief ACP Hamzah Ahmad, a group of armed men had intercepted the fishing boat while the boat skipper, his assistant and 11 other crew members were fishing in the area around 7pm to 7.30pm.

The armed gunmen abducted the skipper and his assistant and took five mobile phones, the boat engine and RM1,850 in cash.

“The remaining crew members were rescued by other fishermen fishing in the area and taken back to Kunak arriving around 3am.

According to Hamzah, police were notified of the incident by the other fishermen in the area at the time as the radio on the boat was damaged by the gunmen.

“We are questioning the 11 crew of the fishing boat,” he said.

Asked if the kidnapping was orchestrated by the remaining Abu Sayyaf members, Hamzah said the matter was still being investigated.

“The kidnappers are believed to have fled into international waters immediately after abducting the two fishermen,” he said, adding that the police had yet to receive any call or demand for ransom while investigation was still ongoing from every angle.

This is the second kidnapping incident this month in Sabah’s east coast. The recent kidnapping incident took place in Kinabatangan on November 5 where two boat skippers were kidnapped.

Meanwhile, Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) commander Datuk Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid confirmed the latest abduction case.

Wan Abdul Bari said ESSCom was notified of the incident about 30 minutes later by other fishermen as the boat radio had malfunctioned after the remaining 11 crew were rescued.

Philippines army spokesman, Major Filemon Tan, said ground and naval units were trying to intercept the gunmen and their victims as they sped off towards the southern Philippines.

Indonesia has called for security to be strengthened in Sabah’s east coast where 12 of its nationals, including the two taken on Saturday, have been abducted since April.

Its Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, said Kuala Lumpur and Manila should work more closely in addressing the cross border criminal groups operating in the area.

Despite efforts by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia to jointly shore up security along their busy sea border, Indonesians and Malaysians have been kidnapped from tugboats and fishing boats in recent months.

Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines, which is near Sabah, and its allied gunmen are responsible for many attacks at sea. The Abu Sayyaf group, which is blacklisted in the U.S. and the Philippines as a terrorist organization, holds 22 captives, including five Malaysians, a Dutch, a German, a South Korean, two Indonesians, six Vietnamese and six Filipinos.

The kidnappings have continued despite one of the largest military offensives against Abu Sayyaf, mainly in Sulu and the nearby island province of Basilan, involving more than 6,000 troops, navy gunboats and rocket-firing air force aircraft.

Without a known foreign source of funds, Abu Sayyaf has survived mostly on ransom kidnappings, extortion and other acts of banditry.

A confidential Philippine government threat assessment report seen by The Associated Press said the militants pocketed at least 353 million pesos ($7.3 million) from ransom kidnappings in the first six months of the year and have turned to abductions of foreign tugboat crewmen as military offensives restricted their mobility.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had discussed the maritime threat of Abu Sayyaf with Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently, and agreed to cooperate to stop the kidnapping.

Abu Sayyaf’s modus operandi are brutal, decapitating hostages when ransom demands are not met.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by The Borneo Post

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