Footage of the brawl at the Gambang Rest and Recreational (R&R) area went viral on social media.
KUANTAN: Malaysian police said on Wednesday (Dec 26) they have detained seven men to assist in investigations into a brawl supposedly sparked by the price of nasi lemak.
Kuantan district police chief Mohamad Noor Yusof Ali said that the suspects, aged between 32 and 44, included a bus driver and a man who later tested positive for drugs.
The fight allegedly happened in the wee hours of Monday morning at the Gambang rest and recreational area along East Coast Highway.
Mohamad Noor said that according to a police report filed by a stall owner at the rest stop, the fight originated from a quarrel between the bus driver and several shop assistants over the price of nasi lemak.
“He claimed that his employees were assaulted after asking the bus driver to pay another RM1 (US$0.25) to cover the price of nasi lemak that was sold for RM2,” said Mohamad Noor.
Seven men, aged between 32 and 44, were detained to assist in investigations. Photo courtesy of Bernama
The stall owner claimed that his assistants had been slapped, strangled and kicked by the bus driver. However, he did not want any action to be taken against the bus driver as the employees’ injuries were not serious, Mohamad Noor added.
He said the bus driver also lodged a report in Kuala Terengganu on Tuesday afternoon, claiming to have been beaten by several unidentified men that he believed were associated with the shop assistants.
A widely circulated video purportedly of the clash shows a man, believed to be the bus driver, being surrounded and taunted by at least three others, who later came at him from different directions, throwing punches and kicks.
Mohamad Noor said, however, that the two shop assistants claimed ignorance of the incident and that they did not recognise the men in the video.
Bernama
