MANILA, Philippines - The Malaysian government thanked the Philippine authorities for the safe release of two Malaysian laborers who were abducted by lawless elements in Sabah last February.
Malaysian Ambassador Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad said the release of Chen Yui Chung, 48, and his cousin, Lai Wong Chun, 46, could be attributed to the cooperation between the security forces of Malaysia and the Philippines.
“We would like to thank the Philippine government for managing to release them…We are very happy on the cooperation given by the Philippine government in freeing two of our nationals abducted since February,” Saad said Wednesday night in a press briefing in his house in Makati City.
“From the bottom of our heart… we thank the Philippine government for freeing them and bringing them from Zamboanga to Manila,” he added.
In the same press conference, Lai said they were treated well by their captors, whom he described as friendly.
“They treated us very good as friends… (The) food (they offered was) also good. Most of the food was fish. Once, they also got beef and sometimes chicken,” Lai said.
He said their captors numbered around eight to 10 and were headed by a certain Ahmad.
“Most of them were talking Tausug. I didn’t recognize, they mentioned to me they were talking in Tausug. They could not communicate (in) Malay,” Lai said.
“They only gave us the name of their leader; everybody called him Ahmad,” he added.
Chen said their abductors were armed with M-16 rifles. Lai said they were not hurt by their kidnappers but were told to follow whenever they moved from one place to another.
The victims could not tell if there was ransom paid to secure their freedom. Lai said he did not hear any gunshot or firefight when police recovered them.
“We were (on the) shore. We saw a boat. We just got the signal to come over. They (rescuers) picked us,” he said.
Lai said he still feels safe in the Philippines despite the incident.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said the presence of police in the area might have pressured the kidnappers.
“It doesn’t follow that if there was no firefight, there was no rescue.... It is possible that the victims were abandoned because they (abductors) were afraid due to the pressure from authorities,” Robredo said.
Robredo said it is possible that the kidnappers are members of the Abu Sayyaf, which operates in the area.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said they are still determining the identities of the perpetrators.
“We are going to coordinate with the Malaysian police for us to conduct the investigation. That is the job of the PNP, to identify and file charges against the perpetrators,” he said.
Saad said the two victims will return to Malaysia today.
The victims were abducted by armed men last Feb. 8 from a seaweed farm in Malaysia’s Sabah state and whisked away in a speedboat to Philippine waters.
They were found by elements of the PNP Special Action Force along the coastline of Bongao, the capital town of Tawi-Tawi. – With Mike Frialde