Malaysia Detains Indonesian Migrant Workers Over Clash

DPA News
Sunday, February 13, 2005

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police detained 31 foreign workers following a clash between Indonesian, Nepalese and Bangladeshi immigrants, news reports said on Sunday.

At least 140 foreigners brawled in Kuala Lumpur late Thursday after group of Indonesians attempted to extort money from other migrant laborers, said Ahmad Abas, a district police chief.

Three of them suffered multiple cuts and bruises while four others had minor injuries, Ahmad told the Sunday Star newspaper.

The workers fought using knives, hammers, metal pipes and sticks near Kuala Lumpur's Central Market, a popular commercial area that attracts many shoppers, the report added.

Malaysia, one of the region's most prosperous nations, has hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from other Asian countries. Most of them work in plantations, factories and as menial workers, but officials have expressed concerns that their presence has contributed to rising crime rates.