5 Indonesian fishermen kidnapped off Sabah

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Five Indonesian fishermen were reported missing off Lahad Datu town in Sabah near the Philippine border and is believed to have been kidnapped, Malaysian media reported on Saturday.

Eight gunmen hijacked a trawler near Tambisan Island and seized five of the 8 crew late Thursday, according to the Daily Express, which quoted a report by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) chief Datuk Hazani Ghazali. 

Ghazali, speaking on television news channel Astro Awani, said “eight men had boarded the fishing boat before five of them are believed to have been kidnapped between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ESSCOM is currently collecting information from the three spared fishermen.”

He did not release the names of the fishermen, but the Indonesian news agency Antara has identified the skipper of the trawler as Arsyad Abdullah, 41. However, the Strait Times named the four other victims as La Baa, 32; Riswanto Hayano, 27; Edi Lawalopo, 53; and Syarizal Kastamiran, 29, - all based in Sandakan. 

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but the victims were snatched from the same area where pro-ISIS Abu Sayyaf gunmen captured 3 Indonesian fishermen in September last year and brought to Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines.

The trio - Muhammad Farhan, 27, Samiun Maneu, 26, and Maharudin Lunani, 26, were all rescued separately by Filipino troops in Sulu. It was unknown whether the Abu Sayyaf was behind the latest kidnappings and Filipino security officials did not issue any statement of were either unaware of the attack. (Zamboanga Post) 

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