The wife of one of the Indonesian fishermen recently kidnapped has received a call asking for a ransom of 4 million ringgit (nearly 1 million USD) to secure the release of the two victims, police said on 25 September.

Fishermen go fishing in waters off Lumpung, Sumatra, Indonesia. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Sabah Police Commissioner Omar Mammah confirmed this update, adding that the victim’s wife received the call on 18 September around 10:25am.

However, no deadline was given to the wife on the handing over of the ransom.

Police believe that there will be further discussions between the kidnappers and the victims’ families on this matter, the police officer said.

The two Indonesian fishermen were kidnapped by armed men on 11 September in the waters off Semporna, a town in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Police said the victims include Captain Samsul Saguni, 40, and assistant Usman Yunus, 35. Four fishermen were on the fishing vessel when the incident took place, two of whom managed to escape.

An initial probe showed that the masked kidnappers were carrying M16 rifles. They fled with their victims by boat to an unknown location.

The police are making their best efforts to track down the kidnappers.

This is the first kidnapping incident to take place in Sabah in over two years.

On 8 December, 2016, a group of armed men attempted a kidnapping in the waters off Semporna, leaving three of the men dead and two others arrested in a shootout with security forces.

(Source: VNA)