Two Malaysian former hostages testified in court in the Philippines today that a detained Abu Sayyaf rebel leader was the man who kidnapped 21 people in the Sipadan resort off Borneo island.

Police Corporal Abdul Jawad Sulawat and scuba diving instructor Fong Yin Ken took the witness stand and pointed to Galib Andang, better known as "Commander Robot", as among the gunmen who took the captives by boat to the southern Philippines in April 2000.

The policeman also identified four other men among the 28 defendants in the kidnapping of 21 Western tourists and Asians from the island resort.

Andang (photo), said by the military to be a senior leader of the Abu Sayyaf, had to have his left leg amputated after it was shattered in a firefight on the rebel stronghold of Jolo island last year that led to his capture.

He sat impassively at his wheelchair with an arm handcuffed to that of a fellow defendant as a lower court heard the testimonies of the Malaysian victims at a heavily guarded police compound in suburban Manila.

Sulawat, who spent 83 days in captivity before being ransomed off, described through an interpreter how the terrified captives endured the boat ride across the Celebes Sea to the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Jolo.

Loaded with weapons

Sulawat said the kidnappers were met by up to 1,000 followers armed with assault rifles, mortars and pistols, who informed the captives that they were under Abu Sayyaf custody.

Asked why he did not escape, the police officer said: "I was scared of the Abu Sayyaf. They had a lot of weapons and I was not conversant of the area."

Fong, who said he recognized only Andang among the defendants, told lower court judge Erlinda Uy that he spent 119 days in captivity.

He said he did not actually see any money change hands between negotiators and his captors, but said the kidnappers' ranks "grew" and they acquired more weaponry as the hostage crisis dragged on.

France, Germany and other governments who had nationals among the hostages leaned on then-president Joseph Estrada to avoid a rescue attempt in favor of negotiations.

Estrada agreed, and Libya arranged for payments to free most of the Westerners, who were whisked out of the Philippines aboard a Libyan presidential jet after nearly a year in captivity.

In return, Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi won a publicity windfall and the gratitude of Western states.