NZ rescues hostage in RI: Newspaper
NZ rescues hostage in RI: Newspaper
AUCKLAND (AFP): Former New Zealand special forces soldiers
staged a covert operation to rescue a Chinese-Indonesia
businessman being held captive for five years in Indonesia, The
New Zealand Herald reported here on Friday.
Johnson Cornelius Lo, who claims to be the heir to the Tiger
Balm fortune, was reportedly held in a village near Yogyakarta
until the New Zealand soldiers rescued him.
Lo had allegedly been held for ransom by a group of men, the
newspaper reported.
Former soldiers of New Zealand's Special Air Services, working
for private company Onix International Ltd., reportedly entered
Indonesia through Bali to rescue him.
The Herald said Onix managing director Ken Whatuira, who
fought in the Gulf War with the British SAS, is believed to have
flown with an associate to Indonesia last September to meet
trustees of Mr Lo's fortune and negotiate his release.
Attempts to free funds to meet ransom demands had fallen
through because of tight controls on his bank accounts in
Indonesia and Hong Kong.
"Top officials of Indonesia's new government are said to have
become concerned about Mr Lo's plight but were too preoccupied
with the country's political upheaval to intervene," the
newspaper reported.
Lo's trustees gave Onix approval to call up reinforcements
from New Zealand to stage the rescue operation in November.
Eight former SAS soldiers spent a week rehearsing a rescue
plan. They then flew to Java by commercial aircraft through
Brisbane and Bali, before buying two sports utility vehicles and
driving to the village at night.
The Herald said the New Zealanders, wearing balaclavas and
armed with batons, took less than a minute to snatch Lo, even
though around a dozen villagers rallied around.
"There was no collateral damage, either physical or
structurally, and that was vitally important," a former SAS
sergeant said.
Whatuira was guarded about discussing the operation, but
insisted no firearms were involved and that his men took care to
ensure no innocent bystanders were hurt.
Whatuira was also reluctant to identify the village, other
than to say it was somewhere in Central Java, but it is believed
to be about an hour's drive from Yogyakarta.
The men involved in the mission are currently guarding the
America's Cup as it is taken around New Zealand for victory
parades.
The Herald said Lo was now in New Zealand on a visitor's
permit and was using an Indonesian family name different from his
Chinese name.