Cops confirm kidnap off Sabah waters, RM400,000 ransom demand

Security patrols in Sabah waters have increased, with Sabah police getting assistance from their counterparts in the Philippines to be on the lookout for those responsible for kidnapping fishermen.(Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police have confirmed that a short video clip that surfaced on YouTube is that of an Indonesian fisherman kidnapped by armed men in Pulau Gaya waters off Semporna last year.

Sabah police chief Omar Mammah said they had contacted their counterparts in the Philippines and verified that the man, who was crying and pleading for help in the clip, was Samsul Saguni.

“We received confirmation that the video was shot in the Philippines and sent by the kidnappers to Samsul’s employer with a ransom demand of four million pesos (RM400,000),” he told reporters here today.

Sabah police chief Omar Mammah.

Omar said Samsul was kidnapped with another man, Usman Yunus, off Semporna in September. However, Usman managed to escape and returned to his family.

In the 12.30am incident, Samsul and Usman were with two others when the men armed with M16 rifles climbed on board their vessel.

Samsul and Usman were taken away by the gunmen but the other two managed to elude their captors by hiding inside the vessel.

In the video, Samsul is seen squatting in a hole in the ground, wearing only pink shorts, with his hands behind his back.

Two people, wearing army fatigues, can be seen pointing what looked like rifles at the man while he is pleading for help. However, they can only be seen from the waist down.

It is believed to be the first kidnapping incident in almost two years.

Last month, three fishermen, two of them Indonesians and one a Malaysian, were also kidnapped at Pegasus Reef, off Kinabatangan, in the east coast. They were identified as Heri Ardiansyah, Jari Abdullah and Hariadin.

Omar did not rule out the possibility that the mastermind behind the kidnappings could be one of 18 people listed as wanted by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom).

Esscom had recently released a fresh list containing the names and photographs of 18 foreigners wanted for transborder crime in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone).

“We are getting assistance from our counterparts in the Philippines, and our Special Branch is also on the lookout for these men.

“At the moment, there is no sign that they are in Sabah,” he said. - FMT