Kidnappers demand $5m ransom
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Pirates who seized five people from a Malaysian jungle resort last month and took them to the southern Philippines are demanding a $5 million ransom from the Philippine government, Malaysia's military chief has said.
General Zahidi Zainuddin said the kidnappers -- whom he identified as pirates -- initially sought $50 million, but reduced their demand after Philippine troops intensified their search.
"Based on Philippine military intelligence, the five hostages are still alive," Zahidi was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama. "Their abductors have become desperate and are now moving from place to place following heightened military operations."
Malaysia recently said it would not pay a multimillion-dollar ransom demand for the five resort workers, who are believed to be illegal immigrants.
Heavily armed gunmen stormed the remote Borneo Paradise Eco-Farm Resort in eastern Sabah state October 5, snatching three Filipinos and three Indonesians before fleeing by speedboat into Philippine waters.
Philippine soldiers earlier this month recovered one captive, a Filipino who said the kidnappers belonged to Abu Sayyaf, an al Qaeda-linked extremist group in the southern Philippines that launched similar boat raids on Malaysian Borneo resorts in 2000, kidnapping tourists and demanding ransoms.
Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, a spokesman for the Philippine armed forces, said more troops were being deployed in southern Tawi Tawi province "because of new information that indeed these kidnap victims are still alive, that they are still there."
Three hostages reportedly were suffering from unspecified minor ailments, Lucero said, but he had no details. He also said he had no information concerning ransom demands.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Monday the recent rash of kidnappings in her nation could be the work of people aiming to destabilize the government. There have been more than 100 abductions this year in the Philippines.
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
