A HAPPY ENDING…Tsen (seated 2nd from left) posing with his wife Chua Mui Ling, their two children, their parents (standing behind them) as well as Lai (seated on the right) and his parents (standing behind him), at their residence.
IT was unswerving faith in God, their families and the Government that had kept the sanity of the two hostages, Tsen Vui Chung and Lai Wing Chau intact throughout their 10-month-and-12-day ordeal in captivity by their Abu Sayyaf-linked kidnappers.
“No doubt we were rather worried about our future initially, especially whether we can get out alive. But, we were later convinced that our families and the State government were doing their best to secure our release. This was conveyed to us by our families during our tele-conversation with them in two occasions,” said Tsen.
Throughout the captivity, they have only spoken to their families on two occasions i.e. on 18 June and 8 November. Their abductors first contacted their families on 24 March.
“The two occasions coincided with my son’s and daughter’s birthday,” related Tsen who has a 11-year-old son and 13 year-old daughter.
The 42-year-old seaweed farm manager told the New Sabah Times this when visited at his residence here yesterday. Also present was Lai, 33, who is also a cousin of Tsen. The duo were kidnapped from a seaweed farm on Pulau Sebangkat off Semporna on Feb 8, last year. Their release was secured on De 21.
The duo especially thanked the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman for his personal attention and intervention in securing their release.
“We know for a fact that Datuk Seri Musa had used all the available channels and means to help secure our release. We are really grateful to him. We are now making arrangement to see him to thank him personally,” revealed Tsen.
The duo also thanked the Malaysian Police especially Superintendent Hj Khalil B. Kader Mohd of Kepayan police headquarters, the Philippines police, and the various state leaders like former Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Tham Nyip Shen, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Peter Phang, Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Edward Khoo, Gerakan Sabah Chief, Datuk Gordon Leong and Elopura assemblyman, Au Kam Wah, for their kind assistance.
Tsen also categorically maintained that to their best knowledge, no ransom was paid to their abductors. Neither did they (their abductors) ever mentioned about ransom money throughout their captivity.
“We were rescued by the Philippines authority off the waters near our detention camp when our abductors were in the midst of relocating us to another place. Upon seeing the approaching boat, our abductors got panicked and jumped off the boat into the water and escaped under the cover of darkness.
“In fact, at first, we too were quite scared as we thought we were going to land into the hands of another group of militants. We were relieved when one of them spoke in Malay that they were the police. When we realized that we are finally saved, we felt so happy as if it was a nightmare. We were then taken back to the town of Bongao and handed over to the local authority there,” he related.
They were rescued on 21 December at around 10pm at the seafront near the place where they were kept in captivity.
Tsen also related that the most unforgettable occasion for them throughout their captivity was the exchange of fire between their captors and their rival group near their camp, sometime in July.
“The gunfight was just less than a 100-metre away from us, and when we were running for our lives we could literally hear the bullets passing above our heads with leaves falling to the ground after been hit by the stray bullets. Fortunately, none of us were hit. But we were later told by the leader of our captors that a member of the rival group was wounded,” related Tsen.
The other unforgettable event was when he and Lai were told to help their captors to carry their weapons for them during shifting of place.
“They were quite well-armed, from light to heavy firearms,” Tsen related.
As for Lai, who is a single still, the most nostalgic-yet-hilarious incident was when his captors who over the period became their ‘comrades’, tried to match-make him with one of their girls.
He turned around and joked with them that if he marries her, he will then adopt a Muslim name called Abu and he and his wife would then return to Sabah and set up a grilled chicken wings stall called ‘Abu Sayap Chicken Wings’.
“All of us had a good laugh over it and it now becomes my best joke ever since,” quipped Lai.
The duo also revealed that their captors have treated them well throughout the captivity, as if they were their ‘comrades-in-arm’. Though initially they were tied up, but very soon they were untied and allowed to move freely within their makeshift detention camp most of the time deep in the jungle and sometimes by the seaside, which constantly moved from one location to another, to avoid detection by the authorities.
Tsen recalled they have shifted more than 100 times throughout their captivity, most of the times to a new location up the mountain and sometimes back to the previous camps in the villages, some of which had long been abandoned.
They usually slept on make-shift bed made from wooden plank covered with canvas and sometimes on the hanging beds, with mosquito net provided. There were also occasions of high alert where they had to sleep on the ground padded with rubber mats.
“The leaders of the group were very friendly and courteous towards us, and sometimes they even joke with us. They treated us just like their friends more than hostages. They even allowed us to cook for them after they realized that we cooked better than their cooks,” related Tsen with a broad smile.
In the beginning they were provided three meals a day but gradually when they were allowed to cook for themselves as well as the group, there was literally no limit to it.
“This was because there was literally nothing to do in the jungle. Sometimes, to kill our boredom, they would show us some video clips including cartoons like Tom & jerry which they uploaded in their mobile phones,” said Tsen.
Their daily diet comprised of rice, instant noodles, tapioca, salted fish, dried squibs, and instant coffee, Nestea and Milo. As for the water supply, most of the times they depended on water from the wells which they dug.
“There was one occasion where they were forced to slaughter a cattle and another occasion a goat, after the food ration ran out,” Tsen related.
He estimated the militant group to comprise of 60 people including children as young as 4-year-old, and some of them could speak both Malay and English.
Some dressed in plain cloth while some in military fatigue, they told the duo that they hailed from Jolo Island, the notorious Abu Sayyaf stronghold in the Southern Philippines.
To sum up their experience, Tsen who is also a member of the Sabah Four-wheels Drive Club likened it to having participated in the ‘ultimate 4WD challenge trophy’ with the militant group thrown in.
The duo are currently taking a break before deciding whether to return to the seaweed farm to work or not, after the Chinese New Year celebration which is just a month away.
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