ID :
367415
Fri, 05/15/2015 - 13:10
Auther :

Philippine Police Alerted Over Armed Kidnappers, Two Victims - Philippine Embassy

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- The Philippine police have been alerted for possible interdiction, in the event four gunmen and their two victims were headed their way, following Thursday night's kidnapping at a seafood restaurant near the Sandakan coastline. In a statement here Friday, the Philippine Embassy expressed concern and hoped that with intensified cooperation, the incident would be resolved soon. It said the Philippine authorities, notably maritime units and anti-kidnapping operatives closely coordinated with their Malaysian counterparts to address threats from kidnap gangs. In the 8pm incident on Thursday, four men stormed the Ocean King Seafood Restaurant, a popular seafood outlet in Sandakan town (in east Malaysian state of Sabah), and abducted the female restaurant manager and a customer who was a tourist from Sarawak (also an east Malaysian state). Over 100 customers at the outlet ran helter-skelter as the gunmen grabbed restaurant manager Thien Yoke Fun, 50, and Bernard Chen Ted Fen, 36. The kinappers who wore no mask escaped in a boat. Sandakan is about an hour's speed boat ride from the southern Philippine island of Bakungan Besar. Security forces have not ruled out the kidnappers may be linked to the terror group Abu Sayyaf. --BERNAMA

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