Remains of Vietnamese kidnap victim return to Vietnam

ZAMBOANGA CITY –The remains of the Vietnamese boat captain, one of those kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf last year, had been shipped back to Vietnam after Vietnamese embassy officials ordered the exhumation of the body and DNA testing last week.

Navy Rear Admiral Rene Medina, commander of the Naval Forces in Western Mindanao, confirmed that diplomats from Vietnam came over to the Philippines to secure DNA samples from the body of Pham Minh Tuan.

Tuan was a boat captain of cargo vessel MV Royal-16 who was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf bandits off Sibago Island in Basilan, along with five of his crew members on Nov. 11 last year.

Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Joint Task Group Sulu, said Tuan’s body was buried in Kasulutan village in Jolo town after he was killed during an encounter between his Abu Sayyaf captors and government troops in September this year.

“There was an encounter between the Abu Sayyaf and our troops, the 41st Infantry Battalion, and in the course of heavy fighting, one kidnapped victim was hit,” he said.  The body was exhumed on December 8, upon the requests of the Vietnamese embassy officials.

“They already brought the remains back to their country, maybe they will conduct further test there,” Medina said. /jpv