Barber's hand cut off and stolen in Malaysia

A barber lost a limb and his livelihood after assailants chopped off his left hand in a brutal attack at his shop in Petaling Jaya, a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday. The two assailants took the severed limb with them. The victim, identified only as Murugesan, 47, is an Indian citizen who has lived in Malaysia for the past 16 years. Speaking from his hospital bed, Murugesan said he was with a customer in his shop at 4.30pm on Sunday when a foreigner came in and asked if he could use the toilet.

"I showed him the way when another man came from behind and grabbed me. The man in front then held me down and stretched out my hand while his accomplice swung a parang at my hand, severing it." Writhing in pain, the victim saw the assailants pick up the severed limb and rush out of the shop. A witness who saw the two running away with the severed limb contacted police.



"I don't know why anyone would want to do this to me. I earn a living using my hands. How am I going to feed my family without a hand? I have been a barber all my life and this is the only trade I know." Murugesan's wife and three children are in Chennai, India. He said he began working as a barber when he arrived there 16 years ago. Three months ago, he and a friend set up a hair-styling outlet but the partnership soured following a dispute over the rental.

"I left my partner to set up my own shop soon after and everything was going fine until this attack and I lost my hand," he added. Murugesan is now unsure of his future. He has yet to inform his family of what had transpired. Meanwhile, district police chief Assistant Commissioner Arjunaidi Mohamed said they had identified one of the assailants. He declined to elaborate as investigations were ongoing.