KOTA KINABALU: Four crewmen from a Malaysian boat have been kidnapped by armed Filipino gunmen near Pulau Ligitan off Semporna in the east coast of Sabah on Friday night.

Initial reports stated that eight Filipino gunmen in a speedboat boarded a Malaysian registered vessel, MV Masfive 6, which was sailing near Pulau Ligitan and held them at gunpoint before forcing them to disembark.

The speedboat with the four Malaysian hostages and the gunmen were seen speeding towards Filipino waters.

The other foreign crew members – three Myanmarese and two Indonesians – were left unharmed.

According to initial reports, the four have been identified as Wong Teck Pang, 31; Wong Hung Song, 34; Wong Teck Chi, 29, and Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21, but police have yet to confirm their identities. All four are supposedly from Sarawak.

The foreign crew is believed to have later sailed the ship back to Tawau.

The ship with a crew of nine was returning to Tawau after sending a shipment of logs to Manila when the group of Filipinos struck at about 7pm as it was sailing near Pulau Ligitan.

It is not known if the gunmen were linked to the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group, which has demanded a ransom of US$1mil for the release of a group of Indonesian men kidnapped on Monday.

The 10 Indonesian crewmen from a Taiwanese tugboat were kidnapped as their vessel was sailing close to Malaysian waters off Sabah.

Indonesia has placed an elite force on standby to rescue the 10 hostages who are held by the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo in southern Philippines.