Indian man's hand chopped off in Malaysia

In a brutal incident, the left hand of an Indian national in Malaysia was chopped off by two men who fled with the severed limb.

The victim, identified as Murugesan, 47, is working as a barber and has been living here for the past 16 years. Speaking from his hospital bed yesterday, Murugesan said he was with a customer in his shop 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 sickle at my hand, severing it."
He told local media that the two men picked up the severed limb and left the shop.

"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. Three months ago, he and a friend set up a shop but the partnership fell out. "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.

Meanwhile, district police chief Assistant Commissioner Arjunaidi Mohamed said they had identified one of the assailants.