MANILA, Philippines (24 Sep 2004) -- Two Malaysians taken hostage by Filipino kidnappers four years ago returned to the Philippines on Thursday to testify against the alleged Abu Sayyaf Muslim guerrillas suspected of raiding their Sipadan resort, officials said. Scuba diving instructor Fong Yin Ken and police officer Abdul Jawad Sulawat met with Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales ahead of their court appearance on Friday. The two are prosecution witnesses in the regional trial court case against 27 alleged Abu Sayyaf members. "We consider their testimonies vital to the prosecution of the case," Gonzales told reporters. "We are grateful that they have come here to testify against the Abu Sayyaf. They came here because of the close cooperation we have with Malaysia in our common fight versus terrorism." The guerrillas raided the Malaysian resort of Sipadan off Borneo island on April 23, 2000 and seized 21 Western tourists and Asian resort staff. The hostages were taken by boat across the sea border to the gunmen's Jolo island stronghold in the Philippines. | | Former Malaysian hostages Ken Fong (R), and Abdul Jawad Sulawat (L), are to testify against their abductors, members of the Muslim extremist group the Abu Sayyaf, who raided the neighbouring Malaysian Sipadan dive resort and took 10 western tourists and 11 Asian workers in April 2000. The captives were ransomed off, reportedly for millions of dollars, over the following year in negotiations led by a special envoy of then Philippines president Joseph Estrada. SOURCE - Borneo BulletinEDITOR'S NOTE: The dive industry and dive industry-controlled scuba magazines completely ignored the abductions of scuba diving tourists in Sipadan as if terrorism doesn't matter. Dive operators in Sipadan harshly criticized CDNN for publishing the truth about the threat of Muslim terrorists some 18 months before al-Qaeda attacked New York. |
