Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
25 April 2000
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has been reliably informed that Today, Tuesday 25 April, the Malaysian Minister of Defence announced that Malaysia knew the exact location of the hostages who were abducted on Sunday by a group of heavily armed men. Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak also stated that the hostages were believed to be safe and physically unharmed. The Minister did not disclose the location.
According to the South African mission officials in Sabah, no group has yet claimed responsibility for Sunday evening's hostage taking incident. No demands have been made by the abductors.
The Malaysian and Philippine Defence have mounted an air and sea search and rescue mission. In addition a Malaysian maritime surveillance aircraft is currently operational in the area of the incident and the Malaysian armed forces have already deployed a naval ship and a platoon strength of the Special Forces.
Two of the hostages, James and Mary Murphy, both US citizens, managed to escape from their abductors on the night of the incident.
Smithy Pillay, the South African mission official who was sent by Minister Dlamini Zuma to Sipadan, is presently attending a briefing session conducted by the Malaysian National Security Briefing team that is coordinating the operations in Sipadan and the Sulu Sea.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide updates to the media on a three-hourly basis.
For more information contact Ronnie Mamoepa at 082-990-4853