Hundreds of trainees of the first national service call-up took part in a weekend of riots after four of their colleagues were beaten up by camp officials, state media said today.

Police quoted by the Bernama news agency said the violence erupted late Sunday in Sarawak after a heated row between three medical staff of the national service programme and two trainees, Stanley Jonathan Ringgit, Bintulu deputy police chief, said the situation worsened when two other trainees, who rushed to the aid of their friends were also beaten up by the three staff believed to be drunk.

Ringgit said four trainees received outpatient medical treatment.

During the incident, the trainees threw stones, damaged chairs and smashed up the windscreen of a car, Bernama reported. Police were called in to bolster security and restore order to the camp, which houses some 600 trainees.

"We are investigating the incident. The situation now is calm," a senior police official told AFP Monday on condition of anonymity.

More than 28,000 youths from different ethnic groups began the national service training on Feb 16.

The government says the objective of the RM500-million pilot program is to build a generation of self-confident, patriotic youths with noble values and develop multiracial harmony and unity.

The program does not involve weapons handling but physical training includes unarmed military-style exercises such as basic self-defence and jungle survival skills. - AFP