KOTA KINABALU: A Malaysian has been abducted while fishing in Semporna waters during curfew hours, last night.
The victim is identified as Ruslan Nasir Sarapin, 39, from Lahad Datu.
Confirming this today, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun said the victim was the owner of a fishing vessel stormed by the gunmen.
In the 9.30pm incident, a group of six men on a white speedboat with yellow and green stripes had stormed the fishing vessel, which had 27 crewmen on board.
"Four men, three of whom were armed, raided the vessel and took documents and other belongings before abducting the boat owner.
"Shortly after the incident, we received information that a sea robbery had taken place in Tungku waters off Lahad Datu at about 10pm."
Rashid believed the two incidents could have been carried out by the same group based on the description of the suspects' boat.
In the second incident, a fishing vessel with 19 people on board was raided by three gunmen.
The suspects came in a speedboat with four others on board. Rashid however said it could not be certain whether one of them was the abducted victim.
"We believe the group that abducted the victim could also have been responsible for the Lahad Datu robbery incident as the distance between the two locations was five nautical miles apart."
In the incident, the three gunmen took a 15-horsepower boat engine, RM300 cash, mobile phones and walkie-talkie, among others,before fleeing towards the maritime border.
Rashid said both vessels had no automatic identification system (AIS) as well as communication systems.
No curfew exemption permit was issued for both vessels, he added.
He stressed that all crewmen would be screened by the authorities, adding that 36 of them had no valid documents while eight others who are Indonesians hold expired working permits.
On Sept 11, three Filipino fishermen were captured by gunmen who stormed a fishing vessel docked between Pulau Bodgaya and Pulau Boheydulang off Semporna.
The incident came two months after five Malaysians were abducted in Lahad Datu waters.
They were captured by Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group members and were taken to the southern Philippines.