Kidnappers release Zamboanga trader

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Kidnappers believed to be linked with the Abu Sayyaf group freed unharmed a businesswoman Thursday noon in a coastal area in Zamboanga City following negotiations, a former Basilan government official said.

Former Basilan Vice Governor Al-Rasheed Sakalahul said Sabrina Voon, 28, was released by her captors in a private wharf in Baliwasan Seaside, just more than a kilometer away from the city proper. 

The victim was fetched by family members who were alerted of Voon’s release.

No one from the family of Voon made a statement on the condition of the victim who was brought to a private hospital for check-up. 

Voon was a dealer of personal cosmetics and a scion of former police director of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao retired police general Sukarno Ikbala. She was abducted by six suspects who disguised as police agents that barged into their house at Barangay Mercedes last Feb. 19 and escaped toward Basilan. 

Sakalahul said he just arrived from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Vice President Jejomar Binay, when the victim’s family approached and asked for his assistance to negotiate for the freedom of Voon last Sunday.

“The family appealed to help them negotiate because the abductors have already turned over their captive to the Basilan group,” Sakalahul said. 

Sakalahul did not say whether or not money was involved in the victim's release.

The kidnappers have demanded P5-million ransom for Voon’s release.