The Semporna resort kidnappers are believed to have been involved in two previous abductions of tourists in Sabah, a Malaysian official said Friday.

"One of them is believed to be involved in the kidnapping of a Taiwanese woman on November 15, 2013 in Pom Pom Island, while the rest are believed to be involved in the Sipadan island kidnapping (of 21 people) in 2000," Eastern Sabah Security Command director- general Datuk Mohammad Mentek said in a statement.

Two women, a Chinese tourist and a Filipino resort worker, were abducted by a group of gunmen from a Semporna resort in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on Wednesday evening.

He said the two victims were being held on an island in southern Philippines and in good shape.

Mohammad said the group of gunmen were supposed to be active and aggressive in the southern Philippines, adding that the local Filipino community might have given information to them.

He said 15 of the resort's foreign workers had been detained for not possessing valid travel documents, and the Immigration Department had been asked to make a full investigation and take action.

Mohammad also said five boats were spotted by security forces to be attempting to get into Semporna on March 26, four of which were deterred from entering the region.