Pinay abducted from Sabah resort

MANILA, Philippines - Suspected Filipino gunmen abducted a Filipina resort employee and a Chinese tourist at the Singamata Resort near Semporna, Sabah in eastern Malaysia on Wednesday night, an embassy report said yesterday.

Citing a report of the Philippine embassy in Malaysia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Filipina and the Chinese tourist were abducted at around 10:30 p.m.

The DFA withheld the identity of the Filipina until her family is informed about the incident.

DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the embassy’s police attaché immediately alerted Philippine police authorities in nearby areas for possible interdiction, in the event the perpetrators and their victims were headed their way.

He said Philippine authorities, especially maritime units and anti-kidnapping operatives, are actively and closely coordinating with their Malaysian counterparts in exchanging information and working towards the speedy resolution of the case.

“As of the moment, authorities cannot release the name of the Filipino victim until her next of kin has been notified. We join the authorities in the desire for a speedy resolution of the case and safe return of the victims to their families,” Jose said.

The two women were taken at around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday from Singamata Island off the coastal town of Semporna, Sabah, according to Eastern Sabah security command director Mohammad Mentek.

“We have handed this to the police to quickly investigate and come up with a full report,” Mohammad said in a statement.

The Philippine Navy launched yesterday search and rescue operations for the two hostages that the armed men could bring to Tawi-Tawi.

Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, who was in the Naval Task Force 62 headquarters, said naval boats were searching for the abductors in Tawi-Tawi waters.

Guerrero said they have received information the kidnappers on board a speedboat headed towards the southernmost province.

The military official, citing reports, had identified the victims as Gao Hua Yuan from Shanghai, and Filipino resort worker Marcy Dayawan of the Singahmata Reef Resort.

The kidnapping late Wednesday underscores the persistent security threats in Sabah state, a popular tourist destination and dive spot that is a short boat ride from the southern Philippines, which has long been home to a dangerous mix of Muslim militants and kidnap gangs.

It could also complicate already strained relations between China and Malaysia over Kuala Lumpur’s hunt for a jetliner that disappeared March 8 with 153 Chinese citizens on board.

Six men armed with pistols raided the Singamata Reef Resort, according to a police report forwarded to The Associated Press by a security official.

It said the Chinese victim was a 28-year-old woman from Shanghai, while the receptionist was a 40-year-old Philippine national.

Singamata is a midrange resort popular with Chinese tourists in the Semporna district of the state. It has cottages on stilts over the water.

The attackers were believed to be from the Abu Sayyaf, a Filipino militant Muslim group that has been implicated in seaborne kidnappings for ransom in the region before, said a Philippine intelligence official who didn’t give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) branded as “black propaganda” attempts to link their guerillas to the kidnapping at the resort in Semporna.

Absalom Cerveza, MNLF national spokesman, said the MNLF had been instrumental in the release of several hostages in kidnapping incidents in Sulu, including the tourist kidnapped in Sipadan, Sabah several years ago.

Cerveza also clarified that MNLF members in Sabah are peace-loving people and their only objective is to help the Sultanate of Sulu reclaim Sabah, which was illegally occupied by Malaysia.

 Malaysia’s image has been battered in China over the handling of the investigation into the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people aboard, most of them Chinese nationals, on March 8.

The official Xinhua news agency said Chinese embassy officials in Malaysia have met Sabah’s chief of police and the state’s tourism minister, urging them to confirm and investigate the incident quickly. The embassy officials were on their way to the island resort, on the southeastern side of Sabah, Xinhua added.

Sabah has become a popular tourist destination for Chinese in recent years, but has faced security problems due to its proximity to the restive southern Philippines.

Last February, more than 100 armed Filipinos landed by boat and launched attacks on Malaysian security forces, sparking a major security crisis in the area close to the Singamata resort.

In November, armed men landed on nearby Pom-Pom island off Semporna, killing a tourist from Taiwan and abducting his wife. She was later rescued by Philippine security forces.

Sabah made world headlines in 2000 when Philippines-based, al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group, known for kidnapping and beheading hostages, abducted about 20 Malaysian and Western tourists on Sipadan island – not far from Singamata island. All but one of the hostages, a Filipino, were eventually released and rescued by Philippines security forces. With Perseus Echeminada, Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude, AP