SANDAKAN, MALAYSIA: A teenage plantation worker was beaten to death by a group of men in an apparent revenge attack on board a bus in Jalan Labuk here.

Nineteen-year-old Timorese, Jay Siprianus, who worked as a tractor operator at the plantation, was on his way back to the plantation quarters when he was attacked at about 1.30pm on Saturday.

About 10 young men armed with pieces of wood, iron rods and parang boarded the bus at one of the stops.

The group went straight to the teenager and began to attack him, sending other frightened passengers running for their lives.

The group, in their 20s, alighted from the bus and escaped, leaving the dead teenager on board.

The bus driver flagged down a passing vehicle to take him to the Seguntor Police Station at Jalan Labuk, where he alerted the police.

Sandakan police chief Asst Comm Rosli Mohd Isa said police had launched a manhunt for the suspects.