Unconfirmed report of another Abu Sayyaf abduction fuels ransom rumours

From the Malay Mail Online (Jun 16): Unconfirmed report of another Abu Sayyaf abduction fuels ransom rumours

News of a possible fresh kidnapping incident by Abu Sayyaf militants here right after four Sarawakians hostages were freed this week have triggered a storm of rumours online that a handsome ransom was paid to the terrorist group.

The talk on social media has been that the hostages were ransomed, and that the money for their freedom is encouraging more kidnappings.

 “Easy money for them. Kidnap, get ransom, wait a week till it runs out then kidnap again. Millions for one job. When will it end?” said one Facebook user Alphy Alan.

Many shared similar sentiments of disbelief that the four who were abducted on April 1 were released from captivity without payment as Malaysian authorities have asserted, especially after news broke that the relatives of the Sarawakians had raised RM12 million and passed the sum to the police in Sandakan.

But Sabah police chief Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun urged the public not to speculate on unconfirmed news reports by the Philippines media that another four Malaysians have been snatched from the state and taken to the Sulu province this morning.

 “Please, let everyone calm down while we wait for the news to be verified without spreading any kind of rumours or speculations,” he told reporters here today after receiving Hari Raya donations from Putatan MP Datuk Marcus Mojigoh.

 “I have contacted my counterparts to verify the news. Let’s wait for confirmation,” he added.

Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told reporters in Putrajaya that the RM12 million collected by the Sarawakians kin were given to Filipino welfare groups and not the Abu Sayyaf abductors.

He emphasised that the government does not recognise kidnap-for-ransom activities and would not use funds for such purposes.

Four brothers, Wong Teck Kang, 31, and Teck Chii, 29, their cousin Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21 and Wong Hung Sing, 34, were kidnapped from a commercial barge, MV Massive 6, in the waters off Pulau Ligitan on April 1 while returning to Tawau, Sabah after sending a cargo of wood to Manila.

On the morning of June 8, they were taken to a boat and travelled to Sabah before reaching a jetty in Sandakan at 6am when the seven armed men who could speak Malay and English, told them they were safe.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/unconfirmed-report-of-another-abu-sayyaf-abduction-fuels-ransom-rumours