Gunmen kill tourist and kidnap wife from Pom Pom Resort

[Midget]

Pom Pom Resort is one of the dive resorts near Semporna. Preliminary reports are blaming Filipino terrorists.

Not good!

---------- Post added November 15th, 2013 at 03:08 AM ----------

Sorry, I'm having trouble posting news links. A Google search will bring up many news sources reporting the story.

 

[fiveupstove]

Crap, I'm supposed to be in Mabul next Monday-Thursday. Should I cancel?

 

[Midget]

The Malaysian military will probably be crawling all over the resorts when you're there.

 

[Zippsy]

It's safer than the Bay area, I would think.

 

[Phil_C]

I was going to say that it is usually safe if you do not wander from the resort - but I see that this was a raid - from the sea, on the resort itself and villas were ransacked. Looks like there has been ongoing problems for some time. - P

 

[Midget]

Looks like there has been ongoing problems for some time. - P

What problems are you referring to?
There have been no tourist kidnappings since 2002.

I don't understand why the security forces were 1km away from a high end resort. They were obviously too far away to be of use.

 

[bracko]

Crap, I'm supposed to be in Mabul next Monday-Thursday. Should I cancel?

I have just returned. While anything can happen I felt incredibly safe on the island and while diving.

This is a huge shock.

 

[IamScubaDog]

Spectre of danger resurfaces in Sabah | Free Malaysia Today

SEMPORNA: The impunity with which gunmen sailed into Sabah’s supposedly tightly guarded Semporna waters, kidnapped a 58-year-old Taiwanese tourist from a resort and killed her husband has exposed the lie that the state’s east coast is safe. Inspector-General of Police IGP Khalid Abu Bakar would only confirm the incident and that his men are investigating.
While there is an air of business-as-usual among the security folk in Sabah, there is a glow of red faces reaching up to the highest circles.
A massive sea and air search is said to have been launched to locate An Wei Chang and her unidentified abductors who fled the Pom Pom Island Resort and Spa by boat after killing her husband Lim Min Hsu, 57.
The crime took place just a kilometre away from a General Operations Force base and perhaps gave the resort management a false sense of security.
The resort is about 30-minutes speedboat ride away from international waters bordering the Tawi Tawi chain of islands in the Philippines and about 45-minutes away from Semporna town.

 

[jh_MacLeod]

SEMPORNA: The impunity with which gunmen sailed into Sabah’s supposedly tightly guarded Semporna waters...has exposed the lie that the state’s east coast is safe.

The news articles which I find most interesting are the ones which have focussed on the relationship between the security forces and the resort operators, like this one.
(UPDATED WITH VID) Rude 'White Rajahs' Causing Anger And Hate
There is unrest on a lot of levels in the area :-^).

 

[Midget]

I've read a few other sources talking about Pom Pom Resort not allowing security forces to be seen by tourists on the resort premises.
Shame on them! This is precisely why their resort guests were targeted. It was all too easy.

---------- Post added November 20th, 2013 at 09:51 AM ----------

I have just returned. While anything can happen I felt incredibly safe on the island and while diving.

This is a huge shock.

Where did you stay? How was the diving?