KOTA KINABALU: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) has confirmed that two Indonesian fishermen were kidnapped in Lahad Datu waters yesterday. Esscom commander Datuk Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said the incident occurred at 7.30pm when a group of fishermen was fishing in the Merabung area. On another matter, Wan Abdul confirmed that Esscom was alerted by Philippine authorities about a speedboat they were pursuing in waters near Tawi-Tawi’s Taganak Island in the southern Philippines yesterday. However, I cannot confirm whether the boat crossed over into Malaysian waters or was involved in the kidnapping (of the two Indonesians).”Sabah’s east coast is reeling from a series of kidnapping incidents over the past year. The last abduction took place in Kinabatangan waters on Nov 5, when gunmen kidnapped an Indonesian fisherman from a fishing boat.

Source: New Strait Times November 20, 2016 04:36 UTC