KUALA LUMPUR: Threats of being shot or beheaded were among the torture endured by the two Malaysians who were held captive by Abu Sayyaf for eight months.

Tayudin Anjut,45, one of the two men rescued by the military on Thursday explained that he and Abd Rahim Summas,62, did not even know that they were going to be rescued.

“It happened suddenly and we don’t know how it happened. We thought we were being moved somewhere else, because we were always moving from one place to another (with Abu Sayyaf)

“We always were moved at night so we didn’t know where we were going or what was happening. So we didn’t even realise that we were separated from the other three and that we were being rescued by the army,” he said on Monday morning at Prime Minister’s Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s residence in Taman Duta.

Both Tayudin and Abd Rahim were reunited with their families at Najib’s residence.

Tayudin said that they were rescued and brought out on a boat.

When asked on the living conditions, Tayudin said they were kept in the forest and treated like slaves.

“The lack of nutrients, sunlight and medical attention however has led my eyesight to turn bad and I can barely see now.

“We didn’t always get food to eat. Sometimes it was rice and sometimes it was bread. They never beat us though.

“But we always slept with body aches and pains from all the work we had to do,” he said.

Tayudin was accompanied by his wife, Gustia Sultan,40 and his two children Nurin Fareisyah,13 and Mohd Fahrin,5.

Abd Rahim told reporters that he was still severely traumatised by the whole incident and said it made his health deteriorate terribly.

“I had high blood pressure, but I was able bodied. Now I can’t walk,” he said while being embraced by his daughter Rasniyati Abdul Rahim who was trying to hold back tears.

The 62-year old could barely speak and was choking on his words while trying to answer questions posed by reporters.

Asked if he would go back to the sea, he said “we will see when the time comes”.

The two men will be treated at first class wards in the Selayang hospital.

They thanked the authorities for their rescue and prayed for the safe return of the other three men.

“We just want them to come back. They endured the same suffering we did and we hope they are rescued soon,” he said.

Abd Rahim and Tayudin were among five tugboat crewmen abducted in waters off Dent Haven in Lahad Datu district last July 18.

The three other sailors, also from Tawau, are still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf. They are Mohd Ridzuan Ismail, 32, Fandy Bakran, 26 and Mohd Zumadi Rahim, 23.-thestar