MALAYSIA, IPOH: A thief raped an Indonesian maid in Manjung when he failed to get his hands on anything valuable.

He later tried to break into three other houses but only found a watch.

The thief found all the rooms in the first house locked, except for the maid's door.

After raping her, the thief locked the 32-year-old maid in the bathroom. The only other person in the house at the time was the maid's 90-year-old employer.

The thief then attempted to break into the neighbour's house but failed to break the locks.

He then broke into two other houses before he was surprised by the owner of the last house.

The owner of the house had gone to check on her children when he saw the thief who was wearing a mask.

The thief was believed to be in his early 20s and was armed with a parang.

Manjung OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Jamil Osman advised residents to be more alert and reinforce the security of their homes with additional locks.