A dispute erupted among factory workers in the East Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) on Monday, allegedly triggered by a shoulder collision while queuing after the end of the workday.
Following the incident, police arrested nine men, including four locals and five foreigners, around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The District Police Chief of Kota Kinabalu, Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaidi Abdullah, revealed that they received a report of the incident at 10:22 p.m. on Monday.
According to Mohd Zaidi, the complainant reported that around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, he was punched by a foreign suspect, leading to a brawl between them. The altercation involved factory workers and was believed to have stemmed from a foreign worker allegedly colliding shoulders with a local worker while queuing for exit fingerprint registration after work.
"The scuffle involved the local worker ignoring the foreign worker's request, and once outside the factory, the victim was suddenly punched from behind," stated Mohd Zaidi in a Wednesday statement.
The brawl reportedly escalated, with the use of wood and iron believed to have been taken from the surrounding area before being eventually dispersed by security guards and other factory workers.
The complainant sustained minor injuries to both knees, and all suspects were detained to assist in investigations under Section 148 of the Penal Code.
Prior to this, a 50-second video depicting the altercation between two groups outside a factory in Kota Kinabalu had gone viral on social media.
