Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun said that they were investigating links between the two incidents within a fortnight — the kidnapping of 10 Indonesian crew members on March 26 and the latest kidnapping from cargo vessel MV Masfive 6 on Saturday night.
“Sabah police at this stage are not sure,” he said here.
“We have suspicions but that will not cut it. Once ransom demands are made, we will know better. Let us make sure before we make such a statement,” he added.
Abdul Rashid said that investigations were ongoing, with statements taken from the six crew members — including three Myanmarese who were left unharmed. He said police were unsure as to why those crew members were not abducted.
“It has only been a few days so many things are not clear yet. But we hope those who were taken are safe,” he said.
The four abducted Malaysians have been identified as Wong Teck Kang, 31, and his brother Wong Teck Chii, 29; Wong Hung Sing, 34; and Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21.
Initial reports stated that eight Filipino gunmen who were travelling in a speedboat boarded the Malaysian-registered tugboat, near Ligitan Island at about 6.15pm and forced the four to disembark. The MV Masfive 6 had just delivered timber cargo to Manila and were on the way back to Tawau.
The speedboat with the four Malaysian hostages and the gunmen were later seen speeding towards Filipino waters.
On March 26, 10 Indonesians on Indonesian tugboat Brahma 12 were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf gunmen as their vessel was sailing in Tawi-Tawi, southern Philippines, close to Malaysian waters off Sabah.
The group has demanded a ransom of US$1mil for the release of the Indonesians.
The barge towed by the Brahma 12 tugboat was found in waters off Tungku in Lahad Datu, according to District Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency director Maritime Captain A. Razak Abd Rahman.
He said that the barge, Anand 12, had drifted into the waters off Tungku, about 100km from the east coast town of Lahad Datu and was found by MMEA patrol boats on Sunday.
The barge was carrying 7,000 tonnes of coal from Kalimantan to the southern Philippines when it was hijacked.
Razak said the barge might have been carried by the current from the Alice Reef near Tawi-Tawi into Malaysian waters.
“We are looking for the owners of the barge now,” said Abdul Rashid.
By Julia Chan
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