3 fishermen snatched by Sulu gunmen off Lahad Datu (Updated)

LAHAD DATU: A gang of South Phillippines gunmen pulled off yet another abduction at sea late on Saturday, snatching three Indonesian fishermen after ambushing a trawler vessel owned by a Malaysian fishing company off the coast of Felda Sahabat here.
The victims identified as Lorence Koten, 34, Teoh Dorus Kopong, 40 and another only know as Emmanuel, 46, all from East Timor, Indonesia were among seven fishermen who were fishing about 3.6 nautical miles off the coastline at about 11.40pm when five kidnappers in a speedboat waylaid their vessel.
The kidnappers who are believed to be Tausugs of a Sulu-based militant group had apparently abducted the three men as the victims had passports.
They spared the other fisherman, - three who were Bajau and another Indonesian, all who did not possess travel documents.
Sabah Commissioner of Police Datuk Abdul Rashid Harun said the kidnappers who were armed with M-14, M-16 and M4 assault rifles jumped on board the trawler and held up the seven fishermen before ransacking the vessel.
"The kidnappers searched the vessels and took with them the victims passports, a police permit to allow the fishermen to operate in curfew zones and cellphones. According to the witnesses, the kidnappers spent 30 minutes on the vessel but did not manhandle the victims. They spoke in Bahasa Malaysia but not in the local dialect. For now, we are yet to receive a ransom demand from the abductors." he said.
Abdul Rashid said police are also checking if the abductors were waiting for the fishermen at the restricted curfew zones prior to striking.
The latest kidnapping comes just over a month after four Sarawakian sailors of a tugboat - brothers Wong Teck Pang, 31, and Wong Teck Chi, 29, their cousin, Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21, and a fourth sailor Wong Hung Sing, 34, were released on June 8 after being kidnapped at sea by gunmen on April 1.
The area the incident occurred was also where a group of over 200 Sulu militants had intruded the Sabah coastline in February, 2013 sparking a stand-off that saw 10 members of Malaysian security forces killed in battle with the enemy.