Melaka Tengah district police chief Christopher Patit said that in the 8pm incident, the victim, a 61-year-old military veteran, suffered injuries to his left ear and right hand.

He was believed to have been hit with a bamboo stick and was treated at Melaka Hospital.

Christopher said the victim had earlier gone to the lemang stall to exchange the lemang he had bought in the morning after complaining it was not properly cooked.

The victim told police the 40-year-old seller refused to even look at the lemang.

The lemang seller then split open the glutinous rice delicacy packed in a bamboo bought by the complainant to show that it was fully cooked.

A quarrel ensued which led to the alleged assault, Christopher said in a statement today.

He said the seller claimed the victim threw the lemang at him, making him angry. The seller also claimed that the victim wanted to upload a video of the incident so that people would boycott his stall.

Police arrested the man at Jalan Kota at 12.15am yesterday. He was released on police bail after his statement was recorded.

Yesterday, a 29-second video clip of the incident went viral on social media, showing the victim being scolded and hit with a bamboo stick.