Six workers kidnapped from Sabah

Six workers kidnapped from Sabah

MALAYSIA: Gunmen have kidnapped six workers, three Filipinos and three Indonesians, from a beach resort in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, police said on Monday.

About 10 men armed with modern weapons, some wearing camouflage fatigues, forced the six into a boat and took them away late on Sunday, Inspector General of Police Norian Mai told a news conference.

The raid appeared to be the work of local bandits seeking ransom, although Sabah, on the north of Borneo island, has been targeted in the past by militants from across the Sulu Sea in the strife-torn southern Philippines.

"We believe the kidnapping was done by a local group, and not a foreign group, whether from the southern Philippines or Indonesia," Norian said.

Police were conducting sea and air searches, he said.

Norian said the six workers were taken from the Borneo Paradise Resort, which runs a summer camp for children. There were no guests at the resort, at Kuala Sungai Sabahan on Sabah's east coast, at the time of the raid. -- Reuters