Foreigners mistaken to be phantom voters assaulted in Malaysia

Over 50 Bangladeshi workers travelling on a bus were stopped and assaulted today by a mob of about 150 people in Malaysia, on the suspicion that they were phantom voters.

This incident comes amid claims by the opposition parties that phantom votes were cast by foreigners in some parts of Malaysia in today's general elections.

Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar said the incident occurred in Pandamaran Klang near Port Klang city in the west coast of peninsular Malaysia this afternoon, as the group suspected the bus was taking foreigners to cast phantom votes.

"This is a good example of the public taking matters into their own hands without getting all the information," Malaysian newspaper 'The Star' quoted the IGP as saying.

They were foreign workers from Bangladesh on their way to work, and not phantom voters, said Omar.

The bus driver has lodged a police report saying that he was threatened by the crowd while the workers were assaulted and the bus was damaged.

A 44-year-old Malaysian man was also mistaken by the group to be a foreigner, and was handed over to the police for verification.