"We cannot as yet confirm if they have been abducted by the Abu Sayyaf group because there are a lot of armed groups in the Philippines," Consul General Ahmad DH Irfan said.Nunukan, N Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Three Indonesian citizens were abducted by a Philippines-based armed group on January 19, the Indonesian Consulate General in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah State, Malaysia, stated here on Saturday.
Consul General Ahmad DH Irfan said there were strong indications that the three, who had been reported missing, were abducted by an armed group.
He revealed that the Philippines Coast Guard officers had found the boat, used by the three for fishing, in the Taganak island waters in South Philippines at 15.15pm local time with its engine still running. Not a single communication device was missing.
"We cannot as yet confirm if they have been abducted by the Abu Sayyaf group because there are a lot of armed groups in the Philippines," he said in a short message to ANTARA.
The boat carrying a Malaysian flag but without any crew was found being carried away by the current, stranded around the Langawan waters in Taganak island.
He informed that the three citizens were identified as Hamdan bin Salim (29) hailing from Selayar island, South Sulawesi; Subandi bin Sattu (47) from Bulukumba, South Sulawesi; and Sudarling bin Samansung (26) from Pulo Bembe, West Sulawesi.
Irfan noted that the three had left on their fishing expedition at around 15.00pm local time on January 18.
"They were mostly likely abducted while in the Sabah State waters because it was almost impossible to enter Philippines waters due to the security situation there," he added.
Noting that the whereabouts of the three were not yet known, he assured that he would continue to coordinate with the Malaysian government to seek further information. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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