Four hostages kidnapped from a resort in Sabah have been freed after an eight-month ordeal allegedly at the hands of Al Qaeda-linked Muslim militants, police said today.

Mohamad Bakri, chief of criminal investigations in Sabah, told AFP the hostages - one Filipino and three Indonesians - were released early Monday and had been sent to a local hospital for medical checks.

Iliyas Ibrahim, Sabah police chief, said a ransom of some RM200,000 was paid for the release of the captives.

Civilian negotiators carried the money to Philippines' Tawi-Tawi Island on May 22, he said, but did not say where the money came from.

Sources in the Philippines said the four hostages were freed after negotiations conducted by an unnamed Malaysian businessman although military sources in Zamboanga city said the hostages escaped from their captors.

Police identified the hostages as Zarah Sariban of the Philippines and three Indonesian nationals, Amir Akbar, Arshad Zagoni, and Suwito.

Mohamad could not confirm if one hostage identified only as Anwar, had died in captivity.

Security increased

Last October, a band of 10 armed kidnappers staged a daring attack on the tiny riverside Borneo Paradise Resort by speedboat and kidnapped their Indonesian and Filipino captives.

Suspicion immediately fell on the Abu Sayyaf, which kidnapped 21 people, mostly Western tourists, from Sipadan resort in Sabah in April 2000.

Malaysia had already beefed up security around the many resort islands in Sabah facing the troubled southern Philippines after the previous kidnapping incidents, but the United States maintains an advisory warning its citizens against travel to the area.

The Abu Sayyaf has been linked by the United States and the Philippines to the Al-Qaeda terror network.

The group is feared for a series of bombings and kidnappings for ransom, mostly targeting foreigners and Christians in the southern Philippines. - AFP