No ransom demand yet for Cotabato trader

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — The family of a Chinese-Filipino businessman kidnapped more than a month ago in nearby Cotabato City has yet to receive any ransom demand from his abductors, authorities said.

Five armed men seized businessman Benny Kotah, a distributor of office supplies and computer parts, in front of his house in Cotabato City and spirited him away using his own car.

Relatives of Kotah’s wife have confirmed that they have not received any ransom demand yet from the kidnappers.

The police have tagged Ibrahim Sagandal, alias Jun Sarat, as the mastermind of Kotah’s abduction.

Sagandal is known as one of the four founders of the notorious Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang which has been tagged in more than 30 kidnappings since 2001. — John Unson