Abduction of Malaysian pastor may be connected to his evangelism attempt

Malaysian authorities are looking into Pastor Raymond Koh's previous attempts to spread Christianity in the country as a possible lead in his abduction.

It was revealed that there was a police report filed against Koh and two others on Jan. 19 and 20 for their attempts to convert a group of youths to Christianity in Kangar, Perlis, The Star Online reported.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed receiving the police report and said that it is being examined as a possible lead in Koh's abduction on Feb. 13.

"We received a report of him (Koh) and a few others attempting to spread Christianity in the northern part of the country," Khalid told the Star Online. "We are looking at it very seriously and further investigation is being conducted," he added.

The Inspector-General said that the priority is to find the pastor as soon as possible and added that the authorities are looking at all the angles.

Khalid had previously cautioned all parties against speculating on the abduction as false information might hamper the investigation.

Koh was abducted on Feb. 13 by a group of masked men on a public road in Petaling Jaya in broad daylight. A purported CCTV footage of the incident showed that at least 15 men and three black SUVs were involved in the kidnapping.

No ransom demand has been made since the abduction. but a part-time Uber driver has been charged for attempting to extort RM30,000 from Koh's family. The extortion attempt has been determined to be an opportunistic ransom demand.

A special task force has been formed to find the pastor, while the family has offered a reward of up to RM100,000 for information that can lead to his safe return.

On March 10, the World Council of Churches urged the prime minister to "intensify" the efforts to find the pastor, saying his abduction has fuelled "fear and mistrust" among the religious minorities in the country.

On Tuesday, church leaders from different denominations came together to pray for Koh's safe return. During the prayer service, Koh's family read scripture and delivered a poem titled "Where is Raymond Koh?"

The pastor's wife, Susanna Liew, said that the family needs to know where Koh is and if he is well.

"I want to know why he was snatched from us this way and who is behind this. After 50 days of silence does anyone question why I am crying for answers? For justice," she said.