KOTA KINABALU: A Chinese national, who was abducted from Pulau Baik, Lahad Datu in May by a group of gunmen, was rescued by the police early yesterday.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said Yang Zai Lin, 34, was now in Sandakan and flown to China from Kuala Lumpur yesterday afternoon.
“He has been rescued and investigations will be conducted,” Khalid told reporters after attending a briefing on the restructuring of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) here yesterday.
He, however, declined to give details.
Yang, who hailed from Guangzhao, was abducted by five gunmen from the Wonderful Terrace Fish Farm where he worked as a manager at 2.45 am on May 6.
A string of kidnappings have rocked Sabah’s east coast over the past nine months, as armed gunmen — mostly believed to be linked to terrorist organisations based in South Philippines — have abducted at least six people, including three foreign tourists and businessmen.
Last month, a Malaysian caged-fish breeding farm operator, Chan Sai Chiun, 32, and his employee were kidnapped by two armed men on speedboat in Kampung Sapang, off Kunak.
In April, a Chinese tourist and a Filipina worker of an island resort off Semporna were nabbed by armed gunmen. They were released a month later although the Malaysian government maintained that no ransom was paid.
A tourist from Taiwan was taken hostage from another resort island off Semporna by gunmen in October last year. They shot her husband dead. It was reported that an undisclosed ransom was paid before her release a month later.
Such incidents have led to questions over the efficacy of the ESSCom set up last year to secure the country’s easternmost borders against foreign intrusions.
The porosity of Sabah’s waters was exposed last January when a group of 200 gunmen from the southern Philippines that proclaimed ties with the now-defunct Sulu sultanate invaded Lahad Datu with the intent to reclaim Sabah.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a restructuring of ESSCom, giving added focus to security in Sabah’s maritime border in a bid to allay growing unease over the recent string of kidnappings in the state.
Yesterday’s briefing was chaired by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa. Present were Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman, and ESSCom commander DCP Datuk Abd Rashid Harun.
On the briefing, Khalid said Abdul Ghani gave details on the restructuring of ESSCom which was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Tuesday.
“The briefing focused on understanding, responsibilities and roles of agencies involved in the restructuring exercise in enhancing the security of eastern Sabah,” Khalid said.