Fresh trouble has hit the National Service (NS) programme as another clash was reported among trainees based at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus in Dungun, Terengganu.

The latest incident comes two days after an allegedly racially-motivated brawl took place at another Terengganu camp in Kuala Berang.

Apart from these, allegations of theft and trainees in possession of drugs have also surfaced.

According to a cadet based in UiTM, last Sunday's melee erupted when two male trainees complained that their mobile phones were missing.

This led camp authorities to search the rooms and they stumbled upon cannabis and cartons of cigarettes instead.

Angered over the search, the friends of those who owned the prohibited substances then attacked the two complainants.

Relating the incident, the cadet said: "The two who complained were surrounded by more than 40 students from the other group the day after the spot check.

"They were asked to pay for the confiscated cigarettes and ganja (cannabis). When they refused, they were slapped and threatened with a penknife.

"That night, the two who were beaten and 10 of their friends stayed in the same room. They were so scared that they locked themselves in and pushed their beds against the door to stop others from coming in."

Police custody

The cadet, who requested anonymity, claimed that the assaulted trainees and their friends were taken away by the police later that night.

Contacted today, another cadet said that the police had taken seven trainees.

"I just got SMS (short message service) from one of the boys. He said he is still in the police station."

On the fate of those caught with the prohibited substances, the cadet said no disciplinary action appears to have been taken against them.

"The camp people do not seem to take it seriously. Those caught with the cigarettes are still here. All they have said to the boys who were beaten up was that they should move to another camp," added the cadet, who declined to be named.

Contacted later, Dungun police chief Abdul Ghafar Rajab declined to confirm if a fight had occurred or whether any students were removed from the camp.

Officials in charge of the National Service programme at UiTM also refused to comment on the allegations.

"We are not entertaining questions from the press at this moment," said one official.

Yesterday, NS Council chairperson Col Prof Ahmad Fawzi Mohd Basri issued a stern warning that the police would be called in to investigate any reports of violence among trainees after being questioned about the alleged clash in Kuala Berang.

On Monday, Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak said he had no information on whether the incident had taken place but added that he would investigate the matter.

Last month, the NS programme was hit by negative publicity when hundreds of trainees in Sarawak went on a rampage and assaulted their camp officials.