Injured Indonesian crew member in abduction drama reported to be stable
He was rescued by Malaysian maritime police and is in a stable condition, Channel News Asia reported.
The two Indonesian-flagged vessels, Cristi and TB Henry, were on their way to Tarakan in North Kalimantan from Cebu in the Philippines.
Thereafter, the gunmen ordered four of them to board a speed boat but the sailors put up a fight, during which time one of the sailors was hit in the chest.
The Philippine government has repeatedly said it has a "no-ransom policy".
The crew of 10 was travelling on a tugboat pulling a barge from Borneo island to the Philippines when they were hijacked, Indonesian and Philippine officials said.
Malaysia is helping out its neighbour Indonesia in investigating and recording statements from the Indonesian tugboat crew who survived the kidnapping in Philippine waters yesterday.
The attack on the tugboat comes just over two weeks after 10 Indonesian sailors were kidnapped in waters of the conflict-wracked southern Philippines by Islamic militants on March 29.
The MV Massive 6 and five of its crew - three Indonesians and two Myanmar nationals - have since been released but the Abu Sayyaf is still holding the remaining four Malaysian crewmen. "Operating costs will go up if they were to use a longer but safer route", he said. The attackers are believed to be from the Philippine rebel group Abu Sayyaf.
Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman said the decades-old barter trade activity in Sandakan and other east coastal towns was to be ceased immediately, according to the Jakarta Post.
The hostage-takers, strongly believed to be Abu Sayyaf militants, did not manage to seize either the tugboat or the barge.
He also shelved a propose ferry services-to start in May-between Kudat in Sabah and Palawan province in the Philippines. The security forces are now looking into how we can provide better security protection for ships in these waters.
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Source: Injured Indonesian crew member in abduction drama reported to be stable
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