Two Kidnapped In Malaysia

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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At a regularly scheduled briefing this Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei ordered China’s consulate in Kuching city had mobilized staff to deal with the kidnapping and urged  the local authorities to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens. Suspected Filipino insurgents seized a Chinese tourist and a hotel receptionist from a dive resort in eastern Malaysia and then fled in a speed boat, Malaysian and Philippine officials informed Thursday.

The kidnapping which took place late Wednesday underscored the persistent security threats in Sabah state, a popular tourist destination a short boat ride from the southern Philippines, which has long been home to a dangerous mix of Muslim militants and kidnap gangs. Six men armed with pistols raided the Singamata Reef Resort, according to a police report. It said the Chinese victim was a 28-year-old woman from Shanghai, while the receptionist was a 40-year-old female Philippine citizen. The Singamata is a resort popular with Chinese tourists in the Semporna district of the state, which is on the Malaysian side of Borneo Island.

The resort has cottages and restaurants on stilts over the water, making it hard to protect from seaborne attackers. The attackers were believed to be from the Abu Sayyaf, a militant Philippine Muslim group that has carried out seaborne kidnappings for ransom in the region before, said a Philippine intelligence official who didn’t give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Philippine maritime security units and anti-kidnapping operatives were working with Malaysian authorities to achieve a “speedy resolution of the case,” the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.