KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia - It was only a kiss, but an Arab visitor blew his top and attacked two women at a backpackers' lodge here.

The man's outrage was caught on video and posted on YouTube immediately after the 6.30pm incident on Feb 9.

Police are now looking for the suspect, who was seen on the video clip attacking receptionist Dewina Jolilin, 22, and moving towards another woman, said to be the local girlfriend of a Canadian traveller here.

City police chief Asst Comm Ahmad Sofi Zakaria said the receptionist had lodged a police report against the suspect, who was last seen leaving the lodge in a huff in a taxi.

Tourist Daniel Gunn, 30, who recorded the episode, said he had kissed his girlfriend on the cheek in the hall area and this infuriated the Arab man.

"I tried to calm him down but he got angrier," said the Canadian.

Gunn said that at that point Dewina confronted the Arab, which only made him more furious because he reckoned the receptionist, who is a Muslim, should also be angry.

He then hit Dewina in the face with a plastic bag, prompting Gunn and his girlfriend to come to the receptionist's aid.

"My girlfriend told him that he cannot attack a woman. And then, she was also attacked," he said.

The Arab man then stormed out of the lodge and left in a taxi. He did not settle his bill with the lodge.