Two Malaysians, held hostage since February, freed

[Kanetsugu Naoe]

Published: Wednesday December 22, 2010 MYT 10:43:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday December 22, 2010 MYT 2:22:02 PM

Two Malaysians, held hostage since February, freed (Updated)
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By RUBEN SARIO

KOTA KINABALU: Two Malaysian sea weed farm workers held by Filipino gunmen in southern Philippines since Feb 8 have been freed. Family members of Tsen Vui Chung, 41, and Lai Wing Chau, 26, said they had received word that the two men had been released.

It is learnt that Philippines security personnel had rescued Tsen and Lai at about 6am Wednesday at an undisclosed location in the southern Philippines island of Tawi Tawi. Both men are on their way to Manila for a debriefing with Philippines officials before taking a flight to Kota Kinabalu.

Tsen and Lai were abducted from a seaweed farm at Pulau Sebangkat off the east coast of Semporna district. Since then, Malaysian police officials said they were working with their Philippines counterpart to secure their release amid reports that the gunmen had demanded for “board and lodging,” a euphemism for ransom payments.

Associated Press reported from MANILA that the Filipino gunmen with ties to al-Qaeda-linked militants have freed two Malaysian labourers from 10 months of jungle captivity, police said Wednesday.

The hostages were seized Feb. 8 from a seaweed farm in Malaysia’s Sabah state and whisked away in a speedboat to nearby Philippine waters in a pattern similar to past kidnappings-for-ransom blamed on the notorious terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

Police commandos, who have been searching for the captives, recovered the two near Bongao town in the southern-most island province of Tawi-Tawi late Tuesday, national police chief Raul Bacalzo told reporters. He said the gunmen linked to the Abu Sayyaf abandoned the hostages after they were encircled by government forces.

The kidnappers escaped and the Malaysians, Chen Yui Chung, 48, and Lai Wong Chun, 46, were flown to Manila. They will be turned over to the Malaysian Embassy after being debriefed by Philippine authorities. The kidnappers had demanded ransom but it was unclear if any was paid, as was the case with past abductions.

Malaysian and Philippine authorities were initially unsure if the hostages were still in Malaysia or the southern Philippines, where the Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim rebel groups have carried out kidnapping-for-ransom.

Officials in Tawi-Tawi, about 1,000km southwest of Manila, had ordered a search in the far-flung province after police in June monitored a cell phone call made by one of the captives to his family in Malaysia, according to a Philippine security official.

The official, who helped oversee the search, declined to be named because he was not authorised to talk to the media. “They were brought from Tawi-Tawi to Jolo and back and we did not know where to look for them,” Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali said.

Chen Yui Chung’s brother-in-law, Chong Man Tung, told The Associated Press in June that his relative had called him weeks after the abduction saying the two were being held by gunmen on an unspecified Philippine island.

The kidnappers apparently had moved the captives from Tawi-Tawi to nearby Jolo Island and back to evade the Philippine military and police manhunt, the security official said.

The Abu Sayyaf has gained notoriety for high-profile kidnapping, beheading and bomb attacks. Battle setbacks, arrests and surrenders have reduced the group’s strength to more than 300 from more than 1,000 guerrillas during its heyday in 2000, the military says.

That year the militants abducted 21 Asian workers and Western tourists from Malaysia’s Sipadan diving resort and brought them to Jolo. They were freed in batches in exchange for huge ransoms.

 

[Gyuki]

Thursday December 23, 2010

Filipino gunmen release two Malaysians after 317 days

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 317 days of agony facing the barrel of a gun ended for Malaysian hostages Tsen Vui Chung and his cousin Lai Wing Chau – they were released by Filipino gunmen near the hilly jungle of Tawi-Tawi island in southern Philippines.

Looking thin and a little weak, all the two men wanted to do after they were flown out to Manila and handed over to the Malaysian Embassy yesterday was to head back home to be with their loved ones.

“I just want to get back to my family. I miss my wife and children,” said Tsen, 42, while Lai, 33, said “I miss my family, I miss home, thank God its over.”

Finally free: A police officer showing the way to Lai (center) and Tsen as they step out of an ambulance at the police hospital in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines yesterday. — AP

Chen, a seaweed farm manager, and supervisor Lai, who were kept closely guarded by the gunmen since they were abducted from their farm in Pulau Sebangkat off Semporna on Feb 8, are expected to fly back to Sabah tomorrow..

The two, who were with their relative Dynasty Marine Farm director Datuk Chong Man Tung yesterday, told The Star that they were looking forward to going home as soon as possible.

“They looked a little weak but okay health wise,” said Chong, who was with them in Manila last night, attending a media conference at the embassy with Malaysian Ambassador Datuk Seri Dr ibrahim Saad.

Wisma Putra said in a statement that the two were escorted from southern Philippines by Filipino and Malaysian police as well as its embassy staff.

Thanking the Philippines authorities for their cooperation, the Foreign Ministry expressed hope that Tsen and Lai and their families would be able to resume normal life after their traumatic and painful experience.

Freedom for Tsen and Lai came following months of unofficial negotiations. The Philippines national police chief Raul Bacalzo said police found the two at the coast of Bongao on Tawi-Tawi island after days of surveillance during which they monitored the movement of the kidnappers.

Claiming that the suspected kidnappers had links to the local Abu Sayyaf group, Bacalzo said the kidnappers fled leaving behind Tsen and Lai when the troops were searching for the captives.

Bacalzo said Filipino authorities were told that the victims were moved to several locations in Malaysia and the southern Philippines during their more than 10 months in captivity.

Tawi Tawi Governor Sadikul Sahali said the hostages were picked up at 6.20am yesterday. “I am very happy the ordeal is over for the two men,” he said.

Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman also urged the two hostages and their families to move on with their lives after their 10-month nightmare.

“I wish that them and their families well. I hope they will move on with their lives now,” he said in a brief text message from his media office here.

“I wish to thank the relevant authorities and other individuals who have worked hard on efforts to secure the release of the two hostages,” said Musa, who has been quietly facilitating various agencies and individuals to help secure the release of the two Sabahans.

He also urged the relevant security forces to be vigilant and step up their surveillance on land and surrounding waters of the state.