Homeless Indian man kicked, hosed, humiliated for sleeping outside Malaysian bank; says employer has his passport

A homeless man who was kicked, hosed down and humiliated for sleeping outside a bank in Malaysia has opened up about his ordeal. Safiudeen Pakkeer Mohamed, from India, became the subject of a viral video that shows him being attacked for the crime of sleeping outside a bank. Safiudeen Pakkeer Mohamed, 39, was attacked and humiliated for sleeping outside an AmBank branch in Malaysia. In a conversation with Malaysian news outlet FMT, Mohamed said that he wants to go back to India, but his passport and wages are being withheld his former employer. Homeless Indian man’s storySafiudeen Pakkeer Mohamed left India in 2024 to work in Malaysia. The 39-year-old wanted to earn money to support his wife and two sons. In Malaysia, he hoped to earn enough to send money back home to his wife and kids in India. In March 2024, Mohamed, from Tamil Nadu, started a job as a cook at a restaurant in Sri Gombak, Kuala Lumpur. However, things soon went downhill for the Indian man. Mohamed told FMT that he had paid RM3,500 ( ₹75,500 approximately) for a work permit and RM1,200 ( ₹26,000) for healthcare to his employer. However, soon after he started working, his employer began withholding his salary. Sometimes he did not receive his wages for months on end, leaving him unable to send money back home. Mohamed said that his employer even withheld his passport so he could not go back to India. When he wanted to quit, he was not allowed to do so. This prompted him to stop going to work around six months ago. Sleeping on the streetsWith no money, passport, job or a place to stay, Mohamed was forced to sleep on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. He had been sleeping outside AmBank’s Taman Maluri branch for a few days before he was humiliated, sprayed with water and asked to leave. Footage that was widely circulated online last week shows a female security guard turning on a tap to hose down Mohamed, who was sitting on the sidewalk outside the bank. A middle-aged cobbler soon joined the female security guard – he was seen kicking Mohamed and asking him to leave. (Also read: Indian-Malaysian CEO of American company with O-1 visa stopped FBI at Miami airport) Mohamed says he never imagined he would go viral for sleeping outside a bank. “If they had only told me to leave, I would have gone quietly. I was very weak, hungry, stressed, and depressed,” he told FMT. After the footage went viral, Tony Lian, who runs shelters for homeless people, has given refuge to Mohamed. According to an NST report, Lian said he plans to get Safiudeen’s employer to return his passport. He also wants to raise funds to settle his debts