An eight-month-old baby girl was kidnapped by a man from the front of her house in Kampung Rawa Rawa, Batu 4 here on Thursday.

Tawau District Deputy Police Chief Superintendant Mustaffa Maarof Mustafa said the victim was taken while she was sleeping with her mother, Norsiah Rashid, 32, in the living room, and the incident was discovered by the mother's younger sibling at about 6.15am.

"At the time of the incident, the door of the house was closed but not locked as the victim's grandmother was busy in the kitchen," he told reporters here Thursday.

He said early investigations found that according to Norsiah, her husband received a message through the Whatsapp application from a man who was believed to have kidnapped the victim.

"The suspect demanded RM100,000 to pay off his drugs debt," she said.

Mustaffa said further investigations were still being conducted and efforts made to track down the victim - BERNAMA