| GRAFFITI POSER ON
SIPADAN ISLAND
SEMPORNA, April 24 (Bernama) --
Graffiti at a building, believed to house the office of a tour operator on Sipadan Island,
is puzzling the islanders and visitors alike.
But they believe the graffiti could shed some lights on the identities of those behind
last night's incident where some 20 people, including foreign tourists, were held
hostages.
Graffiti like "Abu Sayak", "Jawawi" and "Badain" were found
of the wall of the building where four of the hostages were said to be held.
They were written in black and a combination of small and capital letters.
A witness to the incident said a group of four "robbers" entered the building
while another stood guard outside.
They ordered four employees in the building to get onto a boat which was anchored not far
away from the building.
"This morning, we found the writings on the wall," said the witness.
Before that, the robbers were said to have gone to a resort and threatened the guests,
mostly tourists, at the restaurant.
A marine life photographer, Danny K. K. Chin, 48, who has been on the island for nine
years, said one of the intruders introduced himself as a policeman and ordered him to
surrender his wristwatch and handphone.
"I thought he was joking...but when he pointed his gun to my head, I knew he wasn't.
I got scared and did as I was told," he said when met by Bernama on the island today.
He said one of the armed men, speaking in English but with a Suluk accent, then ordered 12
people inside the restaurant to come out and get into two boats which were about 20 metres
away.
Chin said one of the tourist, an American, refused as his wife could not swim.
"When he told them that he would rather be shot than going with them, they left him
and his wife alone.
"The couple scurried away and hid in the jungle behind the resort. They came out only
this morning," he said.
He said the group also ransacked the place, took the keys of the resort and belongings of
the tourists.
"In the commotion, I made my exit and hid in the jungle and came out when everything
was all quiet," he said.
Chin, however, did not know about the other hostages.
Twenty-two hours later, those who survived the incident expressed shock and disbelief even
as police personnel stood guard over the island, a popular world destination for scuba
divers.
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