A South Korean man who was kidnapped by Muslim extremists in the southern Philippines in January has been found dead, police and military officials said yesterday.
The hostage, Hong Nwi-seong, whose age was given as 74, was discovered in the town of Patikul on the strife-torn island of Jolo on Saturday, more than nine months after he was seized by members of Abu Sayyaf, said Brigadier General Alan Arrojado, commander of a special anti-terror task force.
Arrojado said the victim was not killed, but that Abu Sayyaf had taken his body to the area “after the subject’s death due to severe illness.”
His illness was not disclosed, but local military spokesman Captain Antonio Bulao said the South Korean had been reported to be sick over the past few weeks and had died three to five days ago.
The victim was seized from his home in the Zamboanga Peninsula by armed men on Jan. 24 and was later reported to be in the hands of Abu Sayyaf commanders, the military said.
Details of his confinement and efforts to free him were kept quiet to avoid endangering the hostage.
A South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, who declined to be identified, had earlier confirmed the death, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
It identified the victim as a “74-year-old ... surnamed Hong,” adding that “if the body turns out to be our national, we will investigate with the Philippines authorities on how he died and in what circumstances.”
Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the Philippines’ deadliest terror attacks, including the kidnapping for ransom of foreigners, some of whom they killed.
The group is believed to be behind the recent kidnapping of three Westerners and a Filipina taken in September and the abduction of an Italian restaurant owner last month, all from the southern Philippines.
They are also believed to be already holding a Dutch bird watcher, two Malaysians and a Filipino boy.
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