KOTA KINABALU: Nine people, including five foreign workers from China, have been nabbed for rioting at a factory near here.

The nine were nabbed following a report lodged at 10.22pm on Monday (Feb 26), said Kota Kinabalu OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zaidi Abdullah.

He said a local worker claimed he was punched by a workmate, who is a Chinese national, at around 5.30pm.

"This man claimed that he was queuing up to sign out from work when the Chinese national bumped into him," he said.

ACP Zaidi said another Chinese worker later shouted and started pointing at the local worker, challenging him to a fight.

"This Chinese man was holding a stick and the local worker once again ignored the calls to fight," he said.

However, it is learnt that the local worker was punched in his back when he left the factory compound.

A fight broke out and more people joined in the fight, said ACP Zaidi in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 27).

Security guards and other workers on site managed to break the fight apart and a police report was subsequently filed.

Some of them were injured.

"All suspects were arrested around 3.30am and they are now being investigated for rioting," ACP Zaidi said.

A video of the incident has since gone viral in social media.