Chinese kidnapped in Basilan dies 3 days after release

MANILA, Philippines - A Chinese man rescued after being held captive by al-Qaeda-linked militants for three months in Basilan has died of kidney complications just days after he was freed, police said yesterday.

Oscar Lu died in a hospital Monday, three days after security forces rescued him and another Chinese plywood factory worker on southern Basilan Island, where Abu Sayyaf militants had been holding them and demanding a ransom for their release, police said.

Lu, 51, also known as Zi Shun Lu, was in poor health when he was rescued, suffering from a kidney ailment and low blood pressure, regional police commander Sonny David said. Authorities notified his family and arrangements were made for his body to be sent to China, David said.

The two men were abducted by the Abu Sayyaf in November together with a Filipino, who was later beheaded after his family failed to meet a ransom demand.

A day after they were rescued, the rebels rampaged through a sleeping Basilan village, killing 12 people, including four children.

Authorities first reported that Saturday’s attack might have been a retaliation for the recent killing of an Abu Sayyaf commander and the arrest of two others but later said it appeared to have been a vendetta against the village chief.

The Abu Sayyaf, which is fighting to create an Islamic state in the predominantly Christian nation, has about 400 fighters. It is on the US list of terrorist organizations because of two decades of bomb attacks, kidnappings and attacks on civilians.         – AP