The police have not received any telephone call from a group of armed men which kidnapped four Malaysians in the waters off Pulau Ligitan last Friday, says Sabah Commissioner of Police Abdul Rashid Harun.

"There are no developments," he said in a WhatsApp message when asked whether the kidnappers had made contact.

In the incident at 6.15pm, four Malaysians from Sarawak were kidnapped by eight armed men while travelling on a tugboat from Manila to Malaysia.

The Malaysians are Wong Teck Kang, 31, Wong Hung Sing, 34, Wong Teck Chii, 29, and Johnny Lau Jung Hien, 21.

They were part of a nine-member crew on the tugboat, but the kidnappers released the other five, comprising Indonesians and Myanmarese.

- Bernama