Kuala Lumpur: An island off Sabah is on sale for a cool RM18 million. Pom Pom, situated in waters close to Sipadan Island, is now completely uninhabited and offers a land area of 7.3 acres (about 3ha).
It was the scene of an Abu Sayyaf kidnapping in 2013 where a Taiwanese tourist was shot dead.
His wife was then kidnapped and taken to the southern Philippines. She was later freed in the Sulu Province by Philippine security forces.
Three years on, some fishing boat crew members were kidnapped by gunmen in waters near the island, off Semporna.
SPONSORED CONTENT Sabah International Convention Centre’s Big Sabah Sale a big hit Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah International Convention Centre’s (SICC) Big Sabah Sale which concluded on Sunday saw a good response with about 20,000 visitors during the three-day extravaganza. . Read more The sale of the island is listed on a Facebook page, belonging to a Sabah real estate negotiator.
So far, there has been one serious buyer who is offering to purchase the land a little below the asking price.
Pom Pom Island is located approximately 30km northeast of Semporna in the Celebes Sea and known for its fringing coral reef that forms around the island.
A simple online search would show you all that. Seemingly untouched, surrounded by pristine blue waters and endless white sand beaches.
But, there is a little catch.
If you were to scroll down a few search hits, you would learn that this was where the Abu Sayyaf kidnappings took place in 2013.
Then, the island was developed with hotels and resorts, vibrant with visiting tourists.
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