Four Malaysians freed by Abu Sayyaf flown to Kota Kinabalu

The four abducted Malaysians freed yesterday by their Abu Sayyaf captors were flown from here to Kota Kinabalu today in a police aircraft.

Brothers Wong Teck Kang, 31, and Wong Teck Chii, 29, their cousin Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21, and Wong Hung Sing, 34, arrived in Sandakan yesterday and stayed at a Sandakan hotel where they met their families.

Before flying to Kota Kinabalu, the four underwent a medical examination.

"They did not go to any hospital. Our medical officers examined them at their place of stay and they were found to be in good health," Sabah Health director Dr Christina Rundi told Bernama.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur that the four would be brought to Kota Kinabalu to have their statements recorded.

Meanwhile, the families of the four who had been in Sandakan over the past week also left for Kota Kinabalu in an AirAsia flight today.

Reporters were unable to interview the family members at the Sandakan Airport as they were escorted by police through the VIP lane.

In Kota Kinabalu, reporters also failed to interview them at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

The family members were taken in police vehicles to an undisclosed destination.

As the vehicles passed the reporters, the family members nodded and shielded their faces with their hands.

The four men, who were the crew of a tugboat returning to Sarawak from the Philippines, were abducted in the waters of Pulau Ligitan, Semporna, Sabah, on April 1.