By Farik Zolkepli, The Star/Asia News Network
December 21, 2013, 12:07 am TWN
December 21, 2013, 12:07 am TWN
PETALING JAYA -- A Taiwanese tourist
who was kidnapped from Pom Pom island off Sabah on Nov. 15 has been rescued by
Philippines security forces, said IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
In his Tweet, Khalid congratulated
the Philippines for successfully rescuing Chang An-wei.
“The victim was rescued in Sulu and
transported to Merin Hospital there.
“She will be flown to Zamboanga City
tomorrow,” Khalid said, adding that the Philippines authorities will divulge
more details and further development in the matter.
In the incident on Nov. 15, gunmen
shot dead Chang's husband and took her away in a raid on the resort of Pulau
Pom Pom off Semporna in the east coast of Sabah.
They had arrived in a pump boat
about 1 a.m.
Initial reports indicate that gunmen
landed on the water villas of Pom Pom Island Resort and Spa and ransacked three
of six villas including the one occupied by the victim Lim Min-hsu, 57, and
Chang, 58.
At the time of the raid, there were
48 tourists and staff on the island, but it could not be ascertained if all of
them have been accounted for.
There were no details of who the
gunmen were and if they were linked to any Filipino groups from the neighboring
southern Philippines.
The resort is about 1 kilometer away
from the General Operation Force (GOF) and tight security has been maintained
on the waters stretching from Semporna to Lahad Datu in the Celebes and Sulu
seas since the Sulu armed group attack on Lahad Datu in February.
According to initial accounts of the
shooting in Pulau Pom Pom, a 45-minute boat ride from Semporna, a supervisor at
the resort heard gunshots at about 1am on Friday and immediately informed the
GOF post.
Immediately, about a dozen GOF
personnel rushed to the resort where they found the body of Lim with two
gunshot wounds along the corridor.
His wife however was missing and she
was believed to have been kidnapped by the gunmen who were last heard heading
toward Pulau Mataking near the Philippines waters.
In late August, nine fishermen from
Semporna reported being abducted by Filipino gunmen who wanted directions to
the Pulau Mabul diving haven.
They were later abandoned at sea
when the gunmen spotted a GOF post near the resort and fled.
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