Chinese tourist sends SMS to her mum just before abduction

A map of the area where gunmen kidnapped two women from China and the Philippines from a resort off Semporna on Wednesday night. – The Malaysian Insider infographic, April 4, 2014.Minutes before she was abducted by armed men from a resort off Semporna in Sabah on Wednesday night, Chinese tourist Gao Huayun had sent an SMS to her mother saying she had just finished taking her bath, The Star reported today.

Gao's father told the Shanghai People’s Radio Station that his daughter sent the SMS at about 10pm.

"Not long after that her travel mate posted on the app WeChat that my daughter had been kidnapped. Many people started calling us for confirmation," he was quoted as saying.

"We were so worried and didn’t sleep the whole night," he told the radio station, while appealing for help.

It was reported that the 29-year-old Gao enjoys travelling alone and has been to Tibet, the Philippines, South Korea and around her country, according to her profile on China’s social media page Kaixinwang.

She had just been admitted to a university in Britain for a master’s programme in business administration.

Gao had left for Malaysia on Tuesday with a friend identified only as Su. The friends had gone to the Singamata Reef Resort in Semporna to learn diving.

Su told Dragon Television that she and Gao had left their room at about 10pm on Wednesday night to shower in the common bathroom outside.

“She finished her bath earlier. When I returned to our room, I saw the door was ajar and she was not there,” she was reported as saying.

After waiting for about 30 minutes for Gao to appear, she notice the presence of several policeman at the resort.

"After a while, someone knocked on the door and told me to go to the lobby. They said a woman who was wearing a black-and-white striped dress was taken away," she said.

Su realised that her friend had been abducted after verifying the information with several parties, adding that the kidnappers had not ransacked their bedroom or taken their passports.

“The only things they took were our handphones,” she said.

A Chinese daily reporter, who was also at Singamata when the kidnapping occurred, said a group of people had burst into the resort after which sounds of gunshots were heard.

About 60 Chinese tourists, the report said, were in the resort that night and everyone was hiding under the chairs and tables when it happened.

The Star quoted another Chinese tourist who said she heard rapid footsteps at about 10.30pm followed by screams for help. She first assumed that the commotion involved people who were drunk, but soon found out that a kidnapping had taken place.

Besides Gao, Marcy Dayawan, a Filipina working at the resort, was abducted as well.

Sources told The Malaysian Insider that Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf was believed to be behind the abduction and that they had inside help.

"The Abu Sayyaf has been active in the area over the past 15 years and is responsible for a string of kidnappings," the official spoke on condition of anonymity.

"In many cases, the victims were released after a substantial ransom was paid. Last night's case is expected to be no different."

A wide-scale manhunt involving Malaysia and the Philippines is underway to rescue the victims.

Sabah police chief Datuk Hamza Taib said yesterday: "The resort is surrounded by a security system which has obstacles preventing outside vessels from entering."

Authorities believe that the seven armed gunmen, three of whom were masked, had been fed information on how to navigate their way around the security obstacles.

Last year, 58-year-old Taiwanese national Chang An Wei, was released after a ransom was paid to the Abu Sayyaf.

Chang's release in December, 36 days after she was kidnapped, was secured by negotiators who dealt with the kidnappers.

Chang was abducted following a raid in November last year at the Pom Pom island resort in Semporna. In the incident, Taiwanese businessman Li Min Hsu, 57, was killed when the gunmen opened fire during the attack.