'Ransom paid for women kidnapped in Sabah'

A "large ransom" had been paid to the secure the release of two women yesterday who were previously kidnapped from a resort in Sabah, according to  a Reuters report.

This contradicts Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s statement thatno ransom had been paid for the Chinese tourist Gao Huayun and Filipino hotel worker Marcy Dayawan.

 The two were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf gunmen from Singamata Adventures and Reef Resort on April 2.

“Philippines police sources however told Reuters that a large ransom was paid for the women. It has been rare for Abu Sayyaf to release abductees without a ransom being paid,” said the report today.

However it did not include any details of the supposed ransom, such as the amount paid and the source of the funds.

The Islamist terrorist group had previously demanded 500 million Philippine pesos (RM36.8 million) for Gao’s release, and did not make any ransom demand for Dayawan.

Last year, Abu Sayyaf was paid PHP4 million (RM294,000) to release Australian national Warren Rodwell, down from the PHP7 million (RM515,000) initial ransom demand.