Rescued Malaysian hostage dies
Published on: Wednesday, April 10, 2019
KOTA KINABALU: Jari Abdullah the Malaysian fisherman who was kidnapped but escaped from his Abu Sayyaf captors last Thursday succumbed to gunshot wounds while being treated at a private hospital in Zamboanga City, Tuesday.
Doctors removed Jeri’s life support at 1.30pm with the consent of his mother, Zuana Laudioto. Zuana stayed beside her son until his last after arriving in the city Monday with the help of the Malaysian Government.
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Philippines sources said that Jari’s mother had requested that no post mortem be done, as he had “suffered enough”. The mother had also requested Malaysian officials to help send Jari’s body back to Sandakan for burial.
The mother and Jari’s younger brother, Arianto Mohd Sufri, were flown in to Zamboanga City by Wisma Putra. Initially, Jari’s wife Nadin Junianti Najiri and mother were supposed to fly in together but Nadin stayed back as she had children to look after.
Jari, 34, suffered gunshot wounds to his head, chest and groin as he escaped from his kidnappers during gunfight with Philippines marines at Simusa Island in Sulu that day.
Philippine troops managed to rescue him and took him to a hospital in Jolo before he was airlifted to Zamboanga City, where he remained critical and never regained consciousness.
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Jari and two other Indonesians were abducted from their Sandakan-based fishing trawler while fishing in the Pegasus Reef area in Kinabatangan waters close to the Tawi Tawi island chain of southern Philippines on Dec. 5.
A day after Jari’s escape, another victim Indonesian Heri Ardiansyah, 45, was rescued from the sea near Simusa Island but a third hostage, Hariadin, 19, drowned and his body was recovered by Philippines marines pursuing the Abu Sayyaf gunmen.
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The Indonesian duo tried to swim out of Simusa Island, but Hariadin could not make it amid an all out Philippines assault against the militants, who had surrounded the mangrove island close to the Abu Sayyaf stronghold in Jolo.
Meanwhile, Jari’s widow Nadin Juniati Najirin said she could not go to Zamboanga to visit her injured husband as she had a baby who needed to be breast-fed.
“I just want my husband back” she said, upon learning of his untimely death in hospital. Nadin’s mother-in-law told her that her husband’s body would be brought back to Sandakan soon as possible for burial. She added she did not know what to do next because she had been relying on her husband for so long.
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