A kidney patient was slashed to death by a fellow patient while receiving dialysis treatment, apparently because of a row over the air conditioning, reports said today.

Goh Kim Kee, 50, bled to death after a 39-year-old patient attacked him with a machete as 10 other patients hooked up to dialysis machines looked on in horror, the New Straits Times reported.

Goh was slashed four times and both his arms were almost severed, police said.

The two men had in the past argued about the air-conditioning at the dialysis centre in Kuala Lumpur, with Goh complaining that it was too cold, the Sun newspaper said.

The suspect, who had been receiving treatment at the centre for more than a year, fled after the attack and evaded pursuing nurses and security guards.

Police are searching for him, Kuala Lumpur police deputy crime investigations department chief Ramli Din was quoted as saying.