2 missing after raid by armed men

2010/02/09

By Roy Goh
news@nst.com.my

KOTA KINABALU: A company manager and his supervisor are missing after armed men raided a seaweed farm in Pulau Sebangkat, about 15km from Semporna, early yesterday.

The two men are believed to have been abducted by the gang, armed with guns and parang.

A manhunt is now on for the gang.

Police believed the gang had planned to rob the company which employs 34 workers whose salaries were due to be paid yesterday.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said the two victims were locals, aged 40 and 25.

Rashid said the two men went missing after the gang struck at a hut built on top of a platform at 1.30am.

"According to witnesses, the gang had demanded for money," Rashid said, adding that it could not be ascertained if the robbers escaped with the workers' salaries.

He stressed that the gang did not have the traits of terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf from the southern Philippines, and described them as a gang made up of foreigners and locals based in Sabah.

"We believe they came to rob the place and had inside help," he said, adding the armed men came in two pump boats.

"At that time, we had three police boats patrolling the area but they could not enter the place as these boats used outboard engines and the tide was low."

Pump boats, which were declared illegal in 2002, are still widely used as they could move easily in shallow waters.

"We immediately cordoned off the area and we are on full alert at the border."

Pulau Sebangkat is one of seven islands within the Tun Sakaran Marine Park gazetted in 2004.

Two high profile kidnappings of foreign tourists and locals occurred at the resort islands of Pulau Sipadan and Pulau Pandanan in 2000.