By Chan Kok Leong
KUALA LUMPUR
Two women have been kidnapped from a resort popular with scuba divers in a coastal town off the eastern coast of East Malaysia.
Chinese tourist Gao Hua Yuan, 29, and Filipino resort worker Marcy Dayawan, 40, were abducted by gunmen from the Singahmata Reef Resort at around 10.30pm a local newspaper reported Thursday.
Singahmata Reef Resort is around 200 miles from the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayaff stronghold of Jolo in the southern Philippines.
According to The Star, security forces from the southern Philippines have been alerted and a manhunt has been launched by Malaysia and the Philippines.
Witnesses claimed they saw three men, including one wearing a balaclava pulled down over his face, go into the resort late Wednesday while others stayed in the boat, said the New Straits Times.
They said that the two women were grabbed as they were nearest to the jetty while a few employees jumped into the sea to avoid being abducted.
There were 61 guests and 47 employees at the resort, which is located 20 minutes from Semporna on the Celebes Sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines confirmed the abduction Thursday, but refused to identify the Filipina victim.
It said authorities "are actively and closely coordinating with their counterparts in exchanging information and in working towards the speedy resolution of the case."
The kidnapping is the second in the area in the past six months. In November, Taiwanese businessman Li Min Shu, 58, and his wife Chang An Wei, 57, were also abducted from a resort in Semporna.
Li was killed while Chang was released 36 days later after an unknown ransom was paid to the gunmen who kept her in Jolo.
Violence has erupted again in the Philippines’ south, a week after a peace agreement was signed between the governments of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Military and police forces in the area have heightened security to thwart attacks or destabilization plots by Muslim militant groups opposed to the agreement after a man was shot dead in the area Tuesday following a kidnapping and an explosion.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen also kidnapped a Christian school principal on the southern Philippines' island of Basilan early Monday.
Abu Sayyaf is fighting for an Islamic state in the neighboring Philippine island of Mindanao.
It has beheaded hostages in the past.
* Anadolu Agency correspondent Hader Glang contributed to this story from the Philippines.
