Ransom sought for kidnapped Aussie
Source: Agencies |
January 2, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SUSPECTED Muslim militants have demanded ransom for the freedom of a kidnapped Australian and have sent proof that he is alive, Philippine police said yesterday.
The kidnappers mailed four pictures of 53-year-old Warren Richard Rodwell before Christmas to his Filipino wife then called her to demand an initial ransom of US$23,000. Rodwell appeared to have been wounded in the hand by gunfire in one picture but looked well, Senior Superintendent Ruben Cariaga said.
Rodwell, a former university teacher in Shanghai, was taken at gunpoint by about six men on December 5 in southern Ipil town in Zamboanga Sibugay province. It was the latest abduction of a foreigner in the country's volatile south where several kidnappings for ransom have been blamed on the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
No group has claimed responsibility for Rodwell's kidnapping, but officials suspect the Abu Sayyaf and its allied gunmen may have been responsible.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said her government had set up a task force to probe the kidnapping.
Rodwell married his wife, whom he met via the Internet, in June, police said.
Cariaga said Rodwell's wife told him she couldn't raise the money. "She told me she could not pay because she even finds it hard to raise money to feed herself," he said.
Troops and police have been searching for Rodwell in the Zamboanga Peninsula and nearby Basilan island, where the Abu Sayyaf is active.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front said yesterday it would help secure Rodwell's freedom in coordination with authorities.
The kidnappers mailed four pictures of 53-year-old Warren Richard Rodwell before Christmas to his Filipino wife then called her to demand an initial ransom of US$23,000. Rodwell appeared to have been wounded in the hand by gunfire in one picture but looked well, Senior Superintendent Ruben Cariaga said.
Rodwell, a former university teacher in Shanghai, was taken at gunpoint by about six men on December 5 in southern Ipil town in Zamboanga Sibugay province. It was the latest abduction of a foreigner in the country's volatile south where several kidnappings for ransom have been blamed on the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
No group has claimed responsibility for Rodwell's kidnapping, but officials suspect the Abu Sayyaf and its allied gunmen may have been responsible.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said her government had set up a task force to probe the kidnapping.
Rodwell married his wife, whom he met via the Internet, in June, police said.
Cariaga said Rodwell's wife told him she couldn't raise the money. "She told me she could not pay because she even finds it hard to raise money to feed herself," he said.
Troops and police have been searching for Rodwell in the Zamboanga Peninsula and nearby Basilan island, where the Abu Sayyaf is active.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front said yesterday it would help secure Rodwell's freedom in coordination with authorities.
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