KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - With 11 insurance policies worth RM1 million (S$322,000) in his name, a former Royal Malaysian Air Force sergeant says he is living in fear for his life.

The 42-year-old said the policies were bought without his knowledge by his wife, and there has already been one attempt on his life.

The man, who has been a construction safety officer since retiring in 2011, said two men posing as civil engineering students attempted to strangle him inside a car on Sept 10.

He said one of the assailants had called him two days earlier under the guise of doing research on construction sites and requested to interview him at his workplace in Serdang.

He said that on the day of the interview, they picked him up at his home in Puchong in an old Perodua Kancil and went to his office, where they took some pictures of him at work.

He said that on the way home, while he was seated in the front passenger seat, a rope was put around his neck.

"I could feel the rope bite into my neck, and I thought my end had come," said the father of four during a press conference organised by the Gerakan public complaints bureau.

Having served in the military for 18 years, he managed to turn and punch his assailant.

He then kicked the driver in the ribs before escaping from the car which had stopped in a secluded area.

A passer-by helped him call his supervisor, who took him back to the construction site.

Despite his ordeal, he said his wife was indifferent when he related his experience to her.

He became suspicious a week later when his wife received a phone call from an unknown number, which she dismissed as a wrong number.

He claimed that his wife became aggressive when he took the phone from her and called the number.

The caller's WeChat profile picture, he said, matched one of his assailants.

"I was shocked and confronted my wife but she said that she didn't know anything," he added.

A month later, the wife, taking their eldest son, sought shelter with a women's organisation and lodged a police report against him for abuse.

He said she had since been kicked out of the shelter and is now staying with her mother.

Ever since leaving home, she has spent RM60,000, which he discovered after receiving credit card bills and letters in the mail.

He feared another attempt on his life and claimed his signature was forged to buy the life and personal accident insurance.

He said the policies were found hidden in several places in his house.

His wife is the sole beneficiary on the policies, which was shown to the press along with seven police reports he lodged over four months.

"I have also lodged reports at Bank Negara and at the insurance companies involved in the forgery and they've taken action," he said.

He feared his three youngest children, who are under his care, would be abandoned if something happened to him.

"I'm not looking for revenge. I want to live my life free from this cloud of fear hanging over me," he added.

Gerakan public complaints chairman Wilson Lau Hoi Keong promised to follow up on the case with the police.

Serdang OCPD Assistant Commissioner Megat Mohd Aminuddin Megat Alias said investigation into the assault case was underway.

He added that the investigative officers were waiting for instructions from the deputy public prosecutor.

He said the complainant had also been advised to cancel his insurance premiums.