On 14 May 2015, armed men entered the Ocean King seafood restaurant on the Sandakan seafront and abducted the Malaysian restaurant manager and another Malaysian national.
We advise against all but essential travel to all islands off the coast of eastern Sabah from Kudat to Tawau, including (but not limited to) Lankayan, Mabul, Pom Pom, Kapalai, Litigan, Sipadan and Mataking.
Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travelers. There is a threat to foreigners of kidnapping and criminality on the eastern coast of Sabah and in particular the island close to the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines.