A soldier on patrol along the Malaysia-Thailand border here was shot at about 4.30 am today, police said.

Kedah CID chief ACP Mohd Nashir Ya said the 26-year-old soldier was shot as he was mending a section of the border fence that had been cut open.

According to a report received by the police, the soldier and a colleague were on a motorcycle patrol to look out for smuggling when he noticed that the fence had been cut open.

He alighted from the motorcycle and was mending the fence when he spotted the beam of a torchlight on the Thai side of the border.

As he was walking back to the motorcycle after mending the fence, the soldier heard the firing of a gun and realised that he had been shot.

The soldier was rushed to the Kangar Hospital in a military vehicle. It was learnt that he had been shot thrice in the back, twice on the right thigh and once on the left. The other soldier was unhurt.