About 5,000 foreign workers of an electronics factory in Tebrau Industrial Park staged a protest against their employer in Johor Bharu today due to a misunderstanding caused by the death of a fellow employee.     

During the seven-hour stand off which started at 7am near the workers quarters, the foreign workers from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and India turned violent, throwing chairs and rubbish in protest, claiming that the death of their fellow employee was caused by their employer's delay in sending him to hospital.     

Johor CID Chief Amer Awal when met at the scene said the commotion and protest by the foreign workers was due to a misunderstanding caused by the death of a fellow employee.

"The employee from Nepal, aged 20, had kept his sickness (high fever) a secret and did not inform the company until it became serious.      

"When the employer finally came to know and decided to send him to hospital it was a little too late. Due to the delay in treatment, he died at the Sultan Ismail Hospital at 7am," he said.     

However, the other employees who thought the company was to be blamed for the delay in sending him to the hospital, gathered at the quarters and started shouting at their employer, angrily.     

Amer said by 2pm, police and the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) were able to disperse the workers without any untoward incident.     

He added that nobody was detained while police had also informed the Nepal Embassy in Kuala Lumpur of the death.

- Bernama