Cell phone battle leads to 136 arrests

Cell phone battle leads to 136 arrests

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): A squabble over a mobile phone sparked a pitched battle in Malaysia between rival groups of Indonesian construction workers in which some 100 workers' quarters were torched, reports said on Monday.

The clashes early on Sunday, in which petrol bombs, knives and stones were used, spread from Cyberjaya -- the site of Malaysia's multimedia super corridor project south of Kuala Lumpur -- to Putrajaya, the country's new administrative center.

The Star newspaper said 136 people from Madura and Aceh were arrested.

Local police chief Mohamad Shukri Dahlan was quoted as saying the clash began when three Acehnese went for a drink at a stall in Cyberjaya where many Madurese were present.

"One of the Madurese accused one of the Aceh workers of stealing his cellular phone ... a fight ensued between the two groups," he said. One person was reported injured.