KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police are checking on claims that a man, abducted by gunmen off Semporna waters on Sept 27, has been freed.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun said police received information that an abduction victim was allegedly released.
Rashid however did not mention the identity of the supposedly rescued victim.
"I heard 'sudah keluar' (has been rescued) but I need to confirm this matter," he said.
It remains unknown as to whether the supposedly freed hostage is Ruslan Nasir Sarapin, 39, the owner of a fishing boat stormed by gunmen about 9.30pm on Thursday.
Ruslan, from Lahad Datu, was the only one who held a Malaysian identity card from the 27 people onboard the fishing vessel.
The abduction is the latest recorded incident in Sabah waters, which has seen a staggering rise in the number of abductions and sea robberies.
On Sept 11, three Filipino fishermen were captured by gunmen who stormed a fishing vessel that was 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.
The authorities have since raised the possibility that the criminals may have been privy to inside information on Malaysian security operations.