Abdullah confirms three Malaysians kidnapped at
Pulau Pandanan
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama)
-- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi confirmed today that the three people reported missing
from a resort at Pulau Pandanan near Semporna, Sabah last night have been kidnapped by an
armed group which staged a robbery at the resort.
"All three are Malaysians," the deputy prime minister told reporters, here.
Abdullah, who is also Home Minister, said police had informed him that the armed men might
comprise foreigners.
This is based on the Malay dialect used by members of the group which is similar to the
language spoken by people in southern Philippines, he said.
Abdullah said police were still investigating the group responsible for the kidnapping.
The three were reported missing after a band of four men armed with M-16 rifles robbed
Pandanan Semporna Island Resort at Pulau Pandanan.
Pandanan Island is about 20 nautical miles from Semporna and not far from Sipadan Island
where Filipino gunmen kidnapped 21 people, including nine Malaysians last April 23, and
held them hostage in Jolo island in southern Phillippines.
Sabah Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Tyan told reporters in Kota Kinabalu Monday
that the gunmen wearing tracksuits arrived in a speedboat and struck at 7pm.
He said there were 13 workers and a visitor at the resort at that time.
Eleven of the 14 people, upon realising the presence of the gunmen in their midst, fled
and hid, he said.
When the workers returned to the resort at 12.30am today, they found the resort manager
identified as Mohamad Noh Sulaiman, diver Joseph Onkinoh, both 40, and the 30-year-old
visitor missing.
Asked whether the abduction was by the Abu Sayyaf armed group from southern Philippines
which took 21 people hostage from the Pulau Sipadan dive resort, Abdullah said police were
investigating.
Asked whether the group had made any demands, he said there was none so far.
"Maybe by abducting them, they are looking for gains, that we don't know," he
said.
He said police would investigate the motive of the kidnapping.
Asked whether the incident showed that the security measures taken were ineffective,
Abdullah said: "Pulau Pandanan is small and not all islands can be guarded."
He instructed the police to beef up security at all holiday resorts in the country
especially in Sabah.
Abdullah also directed the police to tighten security at islands with tourist resorts and
inhabited by many people.
He also suggested that the island resorts engage the services of security firms to ensure
their safety.
"Like many buildings in Kuala Lumpur, they have their own security guards.
This should be done as a preventive measure from the kidnappers," he added. --
BERNAMA
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