Shots fired at UMNO meeting

Shots fired at UMNO meeting

MALAYSIA: Police fired warning shots after supporters of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling party attacked them as they tried to break up a fight, a report said on Sunday.

The Sunday Star newspaper said a policeman fired two shots into the air when members of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO), who were involved in a fight, "turned their attention" on him and four of his colleagues.

The incident happened during a UMNO party meeting in Marang in the northeastern Terengganu state.

Mohamad Wan Abdullah, the state police chief, said the group turned violent and tried to attack the policemen with chairs when they moved in to try calm the situation.

According to witnesses, the fight erupted after the branch chairman grabbed the microphone from the master of ceremony to try to stop the meeting. --AFP