MANILA, Philippines - A Philippine security official blamed negotiators for excluding them in the efforts to rescue the Malaysian restaurant owner and his female colleague from the Abu Sayyaf.
The security official, who asked not to be named, said the negotiators from Sabah did not even bother to report the kidnapping of 39-year-old Bernard Ghen Ted Fen and Thien Nyuk Fun to the Philippine authorities.
“Since Day One, we only learned about the abduction in Sabah after the two victims were taken by their captors to Sulu as later monitored by our intelligence units,” the security official said yesterday.
The two were snatched at the Ocean King Seafood Restaurant in Sandakan on May 15 and were moved to Sulu where Malaysian negotiators clandestinely worked for their safe release.
Nyuk Fun was released last Nov. 9 after an undetermined amount of ransom was paid and has since returned to Sabah.
On the other hand, Ted Fen was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf even after the Malaysian negotiators settled the P100-million ransom demand of the bandit group. – Roel Pareño