A second day of court hearings is underway in Malaysia for those detained during the country's worst ethnic clashes in decades.

More than thirty people have been charged with a variety of offences, including unlawful assembly and possession of illegal weapons; among them are five off-duty soldiers and a fireman.

At least six peple were killed in the three days of street battles between gangs of Malays and ethnic Indians in a suburb Kampung Medan of Kuala Lumpur.

A BBC correspondent in the city says the Malaysian government is eager to be seen taking a tough line against the rioters; it's also threatened to charge several senior opposition figures with sedition, after they suggested the government was concealing the real number of casualties in the disturbances. Among those being investigated are Wan Azizah Wan Ismail -- the wife of the jailed former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim -- and the secretary-general of the Islamic Party, Nasharuddin Mat Isa.