Family of beheaded Malaysian hostage pays P.5M for wrong body

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 24): Family of beheaded Malaysian hostage pays P.5M for wrong body

Grieving as they already are, the family of beheaded Malaysian-Chinese hostage Bernard Then may have suffered yet another heart-rending injustice.

A reliable source told the Manila Bulletin that the family of Then had reportedly given local villagers in a town in Jolo, Sulu R500,000 to be able to retrieve his body from the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which was believed to have buried his remains.

Then’s head is reportedly in the custody of the Western Mindanao Command (WesMincom).

The source, who gave only his “nom de guerre” (assumed name) as Hamza Sulaiman, said he only learned about the worse fate that befell Then’s family from the diplomatic circle in Manila and his contacts at WesMinCom in Zamboanga City.

He said that a Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) member, who was now living in Sandakan, Malaysia where Then hails, offered to help in retrieving his remains in Sulu.

The MNLF member allegedly made contact with some local villagers, who, in turn, asked for R500,000 “mobilization money” because the area from where they would be getting Then’s body was crawling with armed men, particularly ASG bandits.

After the transaction was completed, the MNLF intermediary reportedly returned to Sabah on a speed boat with what was supposed to be the body of Then.

“But our contacts informed me that upon seeing the body, the wife of the slain hostage declared it was not her husband’s,” the source said.

Enraged, the MNLF intermediary alleged blurted out: “This is another example you cannot trust the Abu Sayyaf bandits; they are only after money, money and more money.”

But the source did acknowledge that the MNLF intermediary did not coordinate with the military in Jolo, which already has orders to turn over Then’s body and head to the Malaysian government.

The ASG kidnapped Then, who hailed from Sarawak, and Thien Nyuk Fun, 50, on May 15 at the Ocean King Seafood Restaurant in Sandakan and brought them  initially to Tawi-Tawi, then to Sulu. Fun is the manager while Then was the electrical engineer consultant of the restaurant.

The ASG released Fun on November 8 after her family reportedly paid 2.7 Malaysian ringgit, or about R30 million, in ransom. However, Then was left behind.

His captors beheaded him after a breakdown in ransom negotiations just as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit was about to start in Manila that caused a major embarrasment for the Philippine government.

While in Manila, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razzak condemned the beheading as a “savage and barbaric” act and called on Manila to give justice to his countryman.

The week after, while he was in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, Aquino ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to intensify operations against the Abu Sayyaf.

http://www.mb.com.ph/family-of-beheaded-malaysian-hostage-pays-p-5m-for-wrong-body/