No further news on kidnapping case – cops
KOTA KINABALU: There has been no new development in the kidnapping case involving three fishermen at Pegasus Reef waters, off Kinabatangan early this month.
State Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said other than the call to one of the victims’ wife, there has been no other call or form of contact.
Omar who was met at the Sabah Police Contingent’s family day at Kepayan yesterday said this when asked for the latest development on the kidnapping case.
“So far there has been no new development. We have not been contacted by either the victims or the kidnappers.
The last contact was on Dec 6 from a victim to his wife and there has been no more call or contact up to today,” he said. Last week, Sabah Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Zaini Jass said police believe they have identified the group involved in the kidnapping but he declined to comment further amid police investigation and the safety of the hostages.
“Our main priority is the safety of the hostages, so we can’t reveal much information,” he said when asked to comment on the latest development on the abduction of Heri Ardiansyah, 19, Jari Abdullah, 34, and Hariadin, 45, who were taken hostages by either kidnap-for-ransom group or Abu Sayyaf on December 5 .
Marine Operation Force (MOF) found the fishermen’s abandoned fishing vessel in the waters at Pegasus Reef, off Kinabatangan following an earlier attempt by four armed masked men to rob and kidnap 13 tugboat crewmen of the Magtrans II tugboat that was on route to Papua New Guinea from Bintulu, Sarawak to collect timber.
Meanwhile touching on the family day, Omar said that it is a two-day event and a wide range of activities have been planned.
“The event starts today where it is mostly sporting events and activities. We kicked off the family day by flagging off the 31.2km fun ride which was participated by 80 cyclists.
“It was followed by the Family Run over a 4.2km within the IPK compound with families of five members each competing against each other. The participation is very encouraging,” he said.
According to Omar, almost 1,000 personnel both in the force and the civil service and their family members are here for the two-day event.
They are from all over the state and also from the General Operations Force (GOF), police marine and Police Air Wing units.