Four fishermen abducted?
KOTA KINABALU: A fishing boat skipper and three of his crewmen have been reported missing in the waters at Pegasus Reef, off Kinabatangan not far from the attempted kidnapping of 13 tugboat crewmen by four masked men on Dec 5.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said Marine Operations Force (MOF) found the abandoned fishing vessel not far from the Magtrans II tugboat, where four masked men including two believed armed with M16 rifles attempted to rob and kidnap the 13 tugboat crewmen.
“Following the shooting and attempted kidnapping incident, MOF personnel continued their investigation around the area and found an abandoned boat with its engine still running.
“Police investigation however revealed that prior to the attempted kidnapping, a report was received from the fishing boat owner claiming to have lost contact with his skipper and three crewmen.
“At the moment, we are still unable to determine if these four men have been kidnapped by the same masked men or otherwise,” he told a press conference at the state police headquarters in Kepayan yesterday.
Omar said two of the men are locals while another two are foreigners aged between 20 and 40.
Omar also said that police are still investigating if the Magtrans II tugboat was attacked earlier before the four fishermen went missing.
“It is still early to say if the fishermen were kidnapped by the same group of gunmen,” he said.
In the 6.30 pm incident on Dec 5, four masked men, including two believed armed with M16 rifles, tried to rob or kidnapped 13 tugboat crewmen in the waters at Pegasus Reef, off Kinabatangan.
The gunmen’s attempts failed when the crewmen fired parachute flares towards them.
The tugboat skipper, identified as Indonesian Didy Saviady, was injured after sustaining a gunshot wound to his left leg when the gunmen had earlier fired two shots towards the tugboat.
The Magtrans II tugboat, which belongs to a company in Sarawak called Juanah Inovative Sdn. Bhd, was heading to Papua New Guinea from Bintulu, Sarawak to collect timber when the incident occurred.