By Meera Vijayan

JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA: A restaurant worker who flagged a passing car for help to save his dying mother was instead robbed and beaten unconscious by the occupants of the vehicle.

By the time help arrived about two hours later, his mother had died from an asthma attack.

The incident occurred in Skudai yesterday when Moh Cheng Mau, 39, returned home from work around 3am to find his mother, Foo Yoon Yew, 63, fighting for her life.

Cheng Mau left his mother near the door of their home along Jalan Hang Jebat 52 in the care of his younger brother Seng Fong, 37, and ran to stop a taxi about 100m away from their home.

According to the victim's elder brother, Mok Aik Kuan, 41, the taxi refused to stop and Cheng Mau then flagged down a dark-coloured car with four men inside.

"He begged them for help and got into the vehicle when they told him that he had to follow them to get an ambulance," he said.

Aik Kuan said the men stopped the car near a graveyard about 300m away from the house, beat his brother unconscious and robbed him of a handphone and around RM500 in cash.

According to him, by the time his brother regained consciousness and staggered back home, it was past 5am.

Neighbours then called the ambulance and police, he said.

Aik Kuan said the ambulance took his brother to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for treatment as his mother had died at about 5.40am.

"Cheng Mau's face and body were swollen. Two of his ribs were broken," he said, adding that his brother had also been repeatedly kicked and stepped on with studded shoes.

Nusajaya OCPD Supt Abd Aziz Ahmad urged those with information to call 07-221 2999.