KOTA KINABALU: A Chinese tourist and a Filipino resort worker have been abducted by a group of men from Pulau Singahmata near Pulau Bum-Bum in Semporna near here, according to the Eastern Sabah Security Command (EssCom).
EssCom director-general Datuk Mohammad Mentek confirmed in a statement yesterday that the abduction took place about 10.30pm Wednesday.
“We leave it to the police to conduct further investigation and provide a full report,” he said in the statement.
The Chinese tourist has been identified as 29-year-old Gao Hua Yuan who had just arrived at the resort on April 2 while the staff has been identified as 40-year old Marcy Dayawan (Mimi).
According to a witness, she was sleeping in one of the female hostels when she heard a loud commotion outside. She woke up and saw a boat at the reception area.
She added that she had no idea where the boat was heading to.
According to the second witness, a man in his 50s said he was having a drink while watching television in one of the rooms when three suspects: one wearing a mask and two others were not; went up towards him and ordered him to remain quiet, before he jumped to the sea.
The witness said the staff who has been kidnapped was Mimi as he jumped off to the sea near where Mimi has been staying.
He also said he saw four other men waiting in the boat who were not wearing any masks.
Based on a police report, seven men armed with M14 had taken the two hostages from the resort using a white and blue-stripped wooden boat.
The suspects are believed to be of Suluk origin as they were speaking in the language. They were also fluent in Malay.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in Perth yesterday that Malaysia had contacted Philippine authorities over efforts to locate the abducted tourist and the resort worker.
He said he regarded the abduction as serious and had ordered all the relevant enforcement agencies to look into the case immediately.
“Our priority is to ensure the safety of the hostages,” Najib told Malaysian journalists shortly after a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on the search for a missing Malaysian airliner in the southern Indian Ocean.
Najib did not rule out the probability that some quarters wanted to tarnish the good relations between Malaysia and China as the abduction coincided with the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370.
The prime minister said all efforts to find the abducted victims were ongoing and that identification of those involved in the incident might require some time.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, meanwhile, wanted all available resources to be directed towards resolving the abduction of the two people.
He said the police and ESSCom director-general had briefed him on the case.
“I have directed the relevant authorities to gear up all efforts towards resolving this case,” he said in a statement issued here.