SINGARAJA ~ Buleleng Police were forced to step in when a fight over land inheritance turned ugly on Tuesday in Kalibukbuk, Buleleng, police said.

According to Buleleng Police chief Istiyono hostility between two brothers, Made Madra and Ketut Ngetis, was triggered by the building of a fence on ancestral land, which Ngetis, the youngest of six children, claimed as his own.

Madra, the oldest of the six, claimed the land in question had been purchased by his family and was therefore not considered part of the inherited land.

Istiyono said the tension in the village was heightened by the fact that Ngetis was a retired soldier and one of Madra’s sons was still an active member of the police force.

Istiyono said the two men were taken to Buleleng Police station after the dispute almost became physical.

“For the time being the situation has been pacified,” he said.