Indian national Safiudeen Pakkeer Mohamed is expected to return to India today after his passport, seized by his former employer in Malaysia, was returned to him. Mohamed’s story had made headlines after he was rendered homeless and forced to sleep on a sidewalk in Kuala Lumpur, where he was kicked and sprayed with water by a bank security guard.
The security guard’s attack was captured on camera and the video subsequently went viral, sparking a wave of sympathy for the 39-year-old Indian man in Malaysia.
(Also read: Indian man kicked, humiliated for sleeping outside Malaysian bank: 'I just want to go home')
Passport returned
Mohamed’s passport was handed back to him during a meeting with officials at the High Commission of India, according to a report in New Strait Times.
The meeting took place on December 1 — days after the attack on Mohamed. It was attended by humanitarian volunteer and Food4U founder Anthony Lian, Safiudeen Mohamed, officers from the High Commission of India, Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia (Presma), Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran India Malaysia (Prisma) and a representative of his former employer.
The representative of his former employer handed Mohamed’s passport back to him.
{{/usCountry}}The representative of his former employer handed Mohamed’s passport back to him.
{{/usCountry}}Indian man’s story
Safiudeen Pakkeer Mohamed left India in 2024 to work in Malaysia, hoping to earn enough to support his wife and two sons back home. The 39-year-old, who hails from Tamil Nadu, began working as a cook at a restaurant in Sri Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, in March 2024. But soon after, things took a turn for the worse.
Mohamed told Malaysian news outlet 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, preventing him from returning 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.
Rendered homeless and attacked
With 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.
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, adding that he just wanted to return to India.