Wednesday September 15, 2010
Filipino abductors demand RM2million ransom
By MUGUNTAN VANAR
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KOTA KINABALU: A RM2mil ransom demand is giving nightmares to the families of two Sabahans being held by Filipino gunmen in the southern Philippines.
The families of abducted seaweed farm manager Tsen Vui Chung, 42, and his cousin Lai Wing Chau, 33, a supervisor, have no resources to raise the money.
They are now pinning their hopes on the Government to help secure the release of the duo. ‘We are ordinary people. Where can we find such money?” Tsen’s wife Chua Mui Ling said yesterday as she confirmed that the abductors were demanding RM2mil for the release of her husband and Lai who were abducted from Pulau Sebangkit on Feb 7.
Living their nighmare: Wong (left) and Chua during an interview at their house in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.
Sitting next to Tsen’s 64-year-old mother Wong Shui Khau, a teary-eyed Mui Ling said they were hoping to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when he visits Sabah tomorrow. “All we want is just 10 minutes of his time to tell him of our plight,” she said. Mui Ling, who has an 11-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter, said they received a call about a week ago for the first time after two months of silence.
“Tsen and Lai told us they were okay and not harmed,” she said, adding that since the abduction seven months ago, they had received at least one call a month from the abductors but there had been silence from July 1 till early this month. She said the abductors had informed a relative of theirs about the amount needed to be paid for the release of the two men.
“Every day, we hold prayers for their well-being and safe return,” Mui Ling said. Their son, she said, was losing weight and doing badly in school since the abduction of his father. “He does not say anything but I can see that he is unable to cope,” she added The two were abducted by gunmen from Pulau Sebangkit before being taken across the border to island hideouts in the Tawi Tawi area in the southern Philippines.
