JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A blind man, 48, lost his savings when he asked a stranger to help him withdraw money from an ATM in Johor Baru, Sin Chew Daily reported.

The man, known only as Mr Yu, said he had gone to the bank to withdraw money at about 7am on Sept 30.

A man who was queueing up had helped him to check his balance using Mr Yu's ATM card.

"He told me I still had RM1,104 (S$367) in the bank so I asked him to withdraw RM1,050 for me.

"However, he told me the ATM had broken down and my money could not be withdrawn. He then quickly returned the card to me and left," Mr Yu said.

Mr Yu then sought help from another man there, who found a receipt showing that RM1,050 had been withdrawn from his account.

He was shocked as he needed the money for his daily expenses.

Mr Yu called the daily to relate his incident as he hoped people would not take advantage of the misfortunes of others.

"I have been asking strangers for help to withdraw money but this is the first time I have been cheated," said Mr Yu, who lost his eyesight two years ago.

Mr Yu, who is living alone in a rented flat, said he did not need any help as he could depend on dried food at home until the welfare department banked in his monthly subsistence.