FORMER Petaling Jaya councillor Peter Chong told police that he had no idea a massive hunt had been launched in search of him in Malaysia.

The reason? His handphone, wallet and passport were taken by two men in Hat Yai and he was kept against his will in a hotel room for three days by the men, who allegedly cautioned him about kicking up a fuss about missing pastor Raymond Koh and the proposed amendments to the shariah law.

These and other claims were made by Chong, who is now being investigated by Malaysian police. They recorded a statement from Chong, 54, after he arrived from Pattaya, Thailand, on Sunday.

This is what he told them:

He received a call from a man who said he had information on the whereabouts of Koh, who was abducted on February 13. Chong said he believed that he was contacted by the man because he had attended vigils held for the missing pastor.

Chong decided to go to Hat Yai on April 7 to meet the source and bought two bus tickets – the other one for a friend, who was going to Bangkok.

At the Hat Yai bus terminal, he and his friend went separate ways. Chong was approached by a stranger who showed him a note that read: “Follow this man”.

The man took Chong to a hotel in Hat Yai where he met “two Malay men” at the lobby. He was grilled on his obsession with Pastor Koh and further questioned on his opposition towards RUU355, the bill seeking to amend the shariah court act, which was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat the same week he went missing.

Chong was told that RUU355 was only for Muslims and being a non-Muslim, he should stay away from the matter. He was then taken to a room in the hotel where he was relieved of his passport, wallet and handphone. He was kept in the room for three days with one man constantly watching over him.

After three days, the abductors took him to Pattaya, about 1,000km from Hat Yai. The abductors allegedly released him and returned his passport.

Chong sought help at the Pattaya police and was told to go back to Hat Yai to lodge a report on his abduction.

The police also allowed him to call the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok, but since no one answered the call, Chong contacted his son, Darryl in Kuala Lumpur.

He told his son he was abducted and had no money to return home. The following day, Darryl wired money to the embassy, which in turn sent it to the Pattaya police who bought Chong his ticket back to Malaysia. Chong did not go back to Hat Yai to lodge a report on his abduction.

Chong arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday via Bangkok and was questioned by police at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Chong failed to return home after leaving his condominium unit on April 5. He stopped communicating with his son prior to his departure to Hat Yai on April 7.

Police sources told The Malaysian Insight that Chong is now at an undisclosed location in Kuala Lumpur and that he is no longer staying at his apartment in Persiaran Raja Chulan.

During investigations, police also discovered that Chong had little money in his two bank accounts. He also had not paid the rent on his apartment for three months.

Police also learnt that Chong had told a good friend he had financial difficulties and felt let down as no one wanted to help him, although he had helped many people before.

The Malaysian Insight learnt that a Malaysian police liaison officer in Thailand is now checking on Chong’s abduction claim. Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh said police are trying to verify Chong’s claims.

“We are trying to verify the information that Chong relayed to us. As for the missing person’s report, that file is now closed.”

Meanwhile, Koh’s family said they had no knowledge that Chong had gone to Thailand to source information on the pastor’s disappearance. They also said they have never met Chong before.

Koh is among four social activists who had gone missing in the past six months. – April 18, 2017.