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THIS IS A HOAX!

A message and photo has been circulating on social media platform WhatsApp alleging the release of seven schoolgirls kidnapped from Sabah’s Keningau district after police secretly paid a total ransom of RM3.5 million. — Picture courtesy of Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman

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Naa kan.. :Kidnapping joke in Sabah gets police attention – The Rakyat Post – The Rakyat Post http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/10/22/kidnapping-joke-sabah-gets-police-attention/ …

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The message read: “18/10/2014 @ 3pm: 4 pelajar sekolah menengah dan 3 murid sekolah yg diculik sejak Isnin lalu dapat diselamatkan drpd penculik slps rundingan panjang antara pihak PDRM Kgau dgn kumpulan kecil penculik berjaya. Kes ini sengaja dirahsiakan utk mengelak spekulasi negatif drpd masyarakat sekitar dan juga utk menjaga ketenteraman awam. Pihak penculik juga menyerahkan kembali 7 pelajar ini tanpa apa2 syarat dan wang tebusan w/pun pada mulanya meminta wang tebusan sebanyak rm500 ribu bagi setiap satu pelajar. Syukur utk semua pelajar yg selamat.”

[Translation: “18/10/2014 @ 3pm: 4 secondary school students and 3 primary school pupils kidnapped last Monday were rescued from their kidnappers soon after the negotiations between the Keningau police and a small group of kidnappers were successful. This case was deliberately kept secret to avoid negative speculations from the community as well as to maintain public order. The kidnappers also released the 7 students without any conditions and ransom, although initially they had demanded a ransom of RM500,000 for each student. Thankfully, all students are safe”]

YAHOO! NEWS MALAYSIA

RM3.5m ransom note for seven Sabah students goes viral on Whatsapp, cops say hoax

The Malay Mail Online

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 22 — An alleged leaked message of a RM3.5 million ransom demand to free seven schoolgirls kidnapped from Keningau has been making waves on Whatsapp, sparking alarm in Sabah where a number of tourists and businessmen have been abducted at gunpoint in recent months.

But Sabah police said today the message was a hoax, pointing to an accompanying photograph showing seven elderly women dressed in secondary and primary school uniforms.

“The report in the message are all lies and no such report was made. It is being spread through Whatsapp and is believed to have caused a false alarm among the public,” state police chief Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman said.

He added that police are investigating the origins of the message under Section 505(C) of the Penal Code, for circulating statements causing public mischief.

The police were alerted to the social media prank after the message was sent to a police officer in Keningau, a district deep in the state’s interior, yesterday.

https://my.news.yahoo.com/rm3-5m-ransom-note-seven-sabah-students-goes-072200724.html

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