Kidnapped Taiwanese woman safe - IGP

Malaysian police believe the Taiwanese woman who was abducted in Pulau Pom Pom, Semporna last Friday by a terrorist group from a neighbouring country is safe.

Their belief is based on a recent conversation recording between the police and the group.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police had also sent their officers to the Philippines to discuss the matter with the authorities.

"We are quite sure she is safe because we have a recording of a conversation with the captors, and my officers are now in Manila to discuss with the Philippine authorities.

"And, we are also in contact with the Taiwan representative in the Philippines...we will do all we can to ensure her safety, so that's all the update that we can provide," he told the media after introducing the police elite unit, 'Special Task Force On Organised Crime' (Stafoc) here today.

On Nov 15, the 58-year-old woman was kidnapped while her 57-year-old Taiwanese husband was shot dead while holidaying in the island.

Khalid reminded the media not to disseminate background information on the abducted victim to avoid complications on the case.

On Stafoc, Khalid said it would start cracking on Jan 1, next year to combat criminal cases and eradicate drug-related problems.

He said Stafoc was a multi-tasking team assigned to handle cases of serious crime, criminal syndicates, gangsterism, gambling, prostitution and human trafficking.

Based on the concept of 'Intelligence Led Policing and Aggresive Action on Organized Crime', the 400-member strong team has undergone special training on handling certain weapons and self-defence tactics, he told reporters at the Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

In another development, Khlaid said the police had detained four people, including the head of a deviant religious group, in connection with the murder of Pahang Islamic Religious Department enforcement head Mohd Raffli Abdul Malik, 49, on Nov 10.