Raub police chief Shahril Abd Rahman said the victim received 40 stitches for injuries suffered on his head, Bernama reported.

The victim lodged a police report at 11.18am yesterday.

He said he was beaten up by three students, who were known to him, at 10.15pm on Friday at Taman Sempalit Aman in Raub.

Shahril said an initial investigation revealed that the students, aged 16 and 17, were unhappy with the victim because he had yet to replace a handphone that was damaged by his younger brother last week. The phone belonged to one of them.

“The victim claimed that he fell into a monsoon drain after being assaulted by the students. Police are looking for witnesses to assist in the investigation,” he said.

He said the three students would be remanded for three days.