‘We were treated like slaves’
> Victim says captors also threatened to behead them
KUALA LUMPUR: Five Malaysians, who were held hostage by Abu Sayyaf militants prior to their release, were threatened and enslaved during an eight-month ordeal.
Tayudin Anjut, 45, one of the two Malaysians released on March 23, said their captors had threatened to behead or shoot them.
“We were not beaten but there were threats on our lives,” he told reporters at the prime minister’s residence here yesterday.
Tayudin and Abdul Rahim Summas, 63, arrived at the KL International Airport in Sepang and were brought to the prime minister’s residence, where they were also reunited with their families at about 8am yesterday.
Also present to welcome them back were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, and 1Malaysia Putra Club president Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.
Tayudin said all five Malaysian kidnap victims were also forced to do various chores and work, and that the only food they ate were leftovers from the meals they had cooked for the kidnappers.
“We were treated like slaves. And sometimes there was food for us, sometimes not, depending if there were leftovers,” he said.
When asked if the captors had passed any messages to them during the eight months, Tayudin said: “They only wanted money, nothing else.”
He said they were moved to several different locations during the entire ordeal.
He added that he and Abdul Rahim were not informed that they would be released on the night of March 23 when they were taken away.
“The other three victims didn’t know we were being released. Even I did not know, so we didn’t have any messages to convey when we were taken away from the group,” he said.
Abdul Rahim, when asked to relive his ordeal, could barely speak as he was visibly overcome by his long captivity.
Najib also said no ransom was paid for the release of the two Malaysians.
He added the release was made with the cooperation between the Malaysian and the Philippine governments.