New claim of ‘no ransom for hostages’ from high-ranking Philippine official

The latest development on the release of two hostages last week has AFP reporting from the Philippines that no ransom was paid after all.

The head of the Philippines anti-kidnapping task force in the country's volatile southern region, Agrimero Cruz, was reported as denying an earlier report quoting an unnamed Philippines police official that money had exchanged hands.

According to the AFP report, Cruz confirmed what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said on Friday about the Malaysian police saying that no ransom was paid.

"I have just been briefed by @PDRMsia that the two women abducted from a resort in Sabah last Apr have been rescued by our authorities.

"No ransom paid to secure their release. Success due to cooperation of Malaysia and Philippines security forces. I thank all involved," Najib had tweeted.

The release of Chinese tourist Gao Huayun, 27, and Filipino Marcy Dayawan, 40, came about almost two months after their abduction from the Singamata Reef Resort by gunmen, suspected to be Abu Sayyaf militants.

The AFP report also quoted Cruz as saying that the Philippine government will be pursuing criminal charges against their abductors. He did not elaborate on such efforts, however, as negotiations were on-going for the release of other kidnap victims.

His statement contradicts Philippine police sources who told Reuters yesterday that a "large ransom" was paid for the women.

"It has been rare for Abu Sayyaf to release abductees without a ransom being paid,” the Reuters report added, though it did not include any details of the supposed ransom, such as the amount paid and the source of the funds.

In another surprising development, local news portal The Rakyat Post has reported that Marcy, the Filipina ex-hostage who had worked in the resort, is currently being held at the Bukit Aman police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to help in investigations.

However, there is no confirmation from the police if she is suspected of being an accomplice to the kidnappers.

Her short term of employment at the resort - just two months - when the abduction occurred had raised some red flags. However, if she is cleared of any suspicion, she will be deported back to the Philippines, police sources told the news portal.

On April 2, seven gunmen entered the resort at night and abducted Gao, who is from Shanghai, and Marcy from the resort.

It was reported that Malaysian authorities believed the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist militant group based in and around the southern Philippines, was behind the abduction and that they had help on the inside.

Following Gao and Marcy's kidnapping in April, a police official in Sabah had revealed that the abduction was also likely to have involved resort staff.

"The Abu Sayyaf has been active in the area over the past 15 years and have been responsible for a string of kidnappings," the official had informed The Malaysian Insider on condition of anonymity.

"In many cases, the victims were released after a substantial ransom was paid. Last night's case is expected to be no different," he had said.

The incident was one of three in the past seven months involving a breach in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone established after the Lahad Datu "invasion" by Sulu forces early last year.

In November last year, Taiwanese tourist Chang An Wei was abducted from the Pom Pom island resort while her partner, Li Min Hsu was shot dead.

Chang was freed a month later after a substantial ransom was paid to the Abu Sayyaf via intermediaries.

Earlier this month, Chinese national Yang Zai Lin, 34, was abducted by Abu Sayyaf gunmen from a fish farm near Pulau Babi, Lahad Datu, and taken away in a speedboat.

Despite Malaysia's security dragnet, the kidnappers managed to escape into international waters and were believed to have headed for southern Philippines.

Yang, a Guangzhou native, had been running the fish farm for three years. The farm is owned by Hong Kong-based Wonderful Terrace Sdn Bhd.

Yang was taken away by five men dressed in army fatigues. At least three of them were said to be armed with M-16 assault rifles.

The Abu Sayyaf is an Islamic militant group which rose to prominence in the 1990s as they fought for an independent Islamic province in the Philippines.

Its members have been known to be involved in bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion activities. – June 1, 2014.