The four Malaysians held captive by Abu Sayyaf militants were reportedly released only after a ransom was paid.
According to a report by Sin Chiew Daily, as translated by Free Malaysia Today, the four men spoke of the their ordeal at the hands of the terror group in Southern Philippines.
The report quoted the men as saying that the gunmen had initially demanded a 300 million pesos (about RM30 million) ransom but eventually dropped the amount to 180 million pesos (about RM18 million).
They also reportedly thanked those who contributed towards the ransom collection, which was said to total RM400,000.
This was contrary to the Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar’s statement on June 9 that said there was no payment on ransom involved in the release of the four men.
The four — Wong Teck Kang, 31; Wong Teck Chii, 29; Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21; and Wong Hung Sing, 34 — were abducted on April 1 by gunmen off Pulau Ligitan while returning to Malaysia from the Philippines.
It was reported that Malaysian and Filipino negotiators managed to secure the hostages’ release after several rounds of negotiations.
