2 abducted from Sandakan seafood restaurant

Four gunmen kidnapped two people at a seafood restaurant in Sandakan, Sabah tonight, the New Straits Times (NST) reported. At about 8pm, the gunmen grabbed the owner of the Ocean King Restaurant, Thien Nyuk Fun, 48 and a man known as Bernard Ghen Ted Fen, 36. Witnesses told NST they saw four gunmen clad in military uniform went up to the restaurant while another two waited in the boat. The Star Online, meanwhile, described the kidnappers as being linked to the Abu Sayyaf militant group from southern Philippines. The NST quoted restaurant manager Chung Yun Thiam, 60,‎ who is also Thien's brother-in-law, saying that customers and workers fled the dining area when the gunmen arrived. "My sister-in-law was at the counter when the suspects took her and another customer," he told NST, adding they fled towards the open sea.‎ Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said investigations are ongoing. The restaurant, situated about 3km from Sandakan town, is reputed to be the best seafood restaurant in Sandakan and situated in Pasir Putih, along Jalan Bokara. Sabah's eastern coast has seen several kidnappings in recent years. Constable Zakiah Aleip, 26, was kidnapped from Mabul Water Bungalows Resort in Semporna on July 12, 2014 by eight Filipino gunmen while his colleague, Corporal Abdul Rajah Jamuan, 32, was shot dead by gunmen in that incident. It was reported that the kidnappers, believed to be Abu Sayyaf terrorists, had demanded up to RM5 million for Zakiah's release. In another case, fish farm operator Chan Sai Chuin, 32, was abducted by Abu Sayyaf militants from Sabah's east coast on June 16 last year. Chan and a Filipino worker identified only as Maslan, were abducted by two armed men at 12.40am from the fish farm they operated in Kampung Air Sapang. Claims have surfaced from Philippines military intelligence and Jolo sources that about RM780,000 in ransom was paid to secure his release on December 9, but Chan said he was told there was none. Another fish farm manager, Yang Zai Lin, was kidnapped by armed men in Pulau Baik, near Lahad Datu, Sabah, in May 2014. Yang was rescued and returned to China after the ordeal. Last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a move to restructure the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) which received flak for its failure to protect Sabah from intruders. Esscom manages a security area or the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) which covers 1,400km of the east coast of Sabah, from Kudat to Tawau. The Esszone was established in March 2013 following the Lahad Datu incursion by armed Sulu militants in February that year. – May 14, 2015.