TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chief Security Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, confirmed that 7 Indonesians had been held hostage by Abu Sayyaf militant groups. The citizens worked for Charles tug boat, of the PT Rusianto Bersaudara, sailing from Samarinda, East Kalimantan, earlier this month.
"Yes, 7 out of 13 crews were abducted," said Luhut.
But TNI Chief, Gatot Nurmantyo, denied the news, saying that he has deployed a team to investigate it and found no clues.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, refused to comment, but planning to release a statement immediately.
The news sparked when Dian Megawati Ahmad, a wife of one of the crewmen, said that he had been called by his husband, who said that the captors asked for 20 million Ringgit ransom.
YOHANES PASKALIS
