M'sian hostage 'forked' his way out
Published: Aug 11, 2013 5:35 PM | Updated: Aug 11, 2013 7:59 PM
Tung Wei Fei, a Malaysian held hostage for nine months by Filipino gunmen on Jolo Island, spent a month grinding through his chains with a humble fork before fleeing.
Tung Wei Fei spent a month grinding away at his chains with a humble fork before escaping from his Filipino captors on Jolo Island.
Tung Wei Fei, a Malaysian held hostage for nine months by Filipino gunmen on Jolo Island, spent a month grinding through his chains with a humble fork before fleeing.
"After my cousin was taken away, I began using a fork to cut through a link in the iron chain. I succeeded after almost a month.
"I waited another month. And then I got the chance to escape," said Wei Fei, according to The Star today.
Wei Fei, 26, is among two Malaysians held hostage by Filipino gunmen in Jolo. The other is his cousin Wee Wei, 34. Their legs were chained during their confinement.
The duo was tending to their family's bird-nest farm in Lahad Datu before being kidnapped by gunmen on Nov 14.
Since escaping on Aug 5, he was reunited with his family and met reporters at his home in Seremban yesterday.
Ran for hours
Wei Fei said he mounted his escape from his bamboo hut-cum-jail while his captors were praying.
“While they were praying, I prayed for heavy rains so that they could not hear me running off,” he said.
His cue came as soon as the skies opened. Wei Fei made a break for it, running as fast as he could with few pauses in between.
“I ran through dense jungles for hours and hours until I saw a row of semi-wooden structures.”
“I banged on the door but no one came out. As I was exhausted, I just collapsed there until the next morning,” said Wee Fei.
The next day, a villager took him to the police and Wee Fei was flown home to Kuala Lumpur.
Prior to their capture, Wee Fei recalled he was with Wee Wei and two other workers at the bird’s nest premises when six men appeared, armed with guns.
After being told to walk to a nearby beach, the workers were set free, but Wee Fei and his cousin were instead ordered to board a speedboat.
“About an hour later, we were forced into another boat which took us to a small island. It was there they told us that they were holding us ransom,” Wee Fei explained, adding that the men spoke in bits of broken Malay, Filipino and English.
Plans to kill captives
Their captors had attempted to contact Wee Fei’s father but were unable to reach him. Instead, the men had sent both their families a photograph with guns pointed at the cousins.
On one occasion, Wei Fei overheard the men discussing how to get rid of their captives upon securing the ransom. They were planning to either shoot them or dump them at sea.
Wee Wei’s father Tung Ah Tey, 62, said that he first heard from his son in January and then from his nephew on April 18.
“They only allowed me to speak to them briefly. They asked me to come to Jolo Island and arrange for a third party to hand over the ransom,” said Ah Tey, who ran an oil palm plantation in Lahad Datu.
He hoped that Wee Wei, the youngest of four siblings, was still alive. Wee Wei suffers from hypertension and the authorities are trying to determine if he is still alive.
"After my cousin was taken away, I began using a fork to cut through a link in the iron chain. I succeeded after almost a month.
"I waited another month. And then I got the chance to escape," said Wei Fei, according to The Star today.
Wei Fei, 26, is among two Malaysians held hostage by Filipino gunmen in Jolo. The other is his cousin Wee Wei, 34. Their legs were chained during their confinement.
The duo was tending to their family's bird-nest farm in Lahad Datu before being kidnapped by gunmen on Nov 14.
Since escaping on Aug 5, he was reunited with his family and met reporters at his home in Seremban yesterday.
Ran for hours
Wei Fei said he mounted his escape from his bamboo hut-cum-jail while his captors were praying.
“While they were praying, I prayed for heavy rains so that they could not hear me running off,” he said.
His cue came as soon as the skies opened. Wei Fei made a break for it, running as fast as he could with few pauses in between.
“I ran through dense jungles for hours and hours until I saw a row of semi-wooden structures.”
“I banged on the door but no one came out. As I was exhausted, I just collapsed there until the next morning,” said Wee Fei.
The next day, a villager took him to the police and Wee Fei was flown home to Kuala Lumpur.
Prior to their capture, Wee Fei recalled he was with Wee Wei and two other workers at the bird’s nest premises when six men appeared, armed with guns.
After being told to walk to a nearby beach, the workers were set free, but Wee Fei and his cousin were instead ordered to board a speedboat.
“About an hour later, we were forced into another boat which took us to a small island. It was there they told us that they were holding us ransom,” Wee Fei explained, adding that the men spoke in bits of broken Malay, Filipino and English.
Plans to kill captives
Their captors had attempted to contact Wee Fei’s father but were unable to reach him. Instead, the men had sent both their families a photograph with guns pointed at the cousins.
On one occasion, Wei Fei overheard the men discussing how to get rid of their captives upon securing the ransom. They were planning to either shoot them or dump them at sea.
Wee Wei’s father Tung Ah Tey, 62, said that he first heard from his son in January and then from his nephew on April 18.
“They only allowed me to speak to them briefly. They asked me to come to Jolo Island and arrange for a third party to hand over the ransom,” said Ah Tey, who ran an oil palm plantation in Lahad Datu.
He hoped that Wee Wei, the youngest of four siblings, was still alive. Wee Wei suffers from hypertension and the authorities are trying to determine if he is still alive.
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