KUALA LUMPUR - A BANGLADESHI man, dissatisfied with his salary in Malaysia, stole two padlocks from a supermarket so he would be deported, a local daily said on Saturday.

The man, a contract cleaner, told a court magistrate that he had been working in Malaysia for 17 months, but was unable to save much money due to his low salary.

The cleaner approached his agent to help him go back to Bangladesh, but the agent refused to let him go before his 3-year contract expires. It was not immediately clear whether the worker was an illegal immigrant.

'I decided to steal the padlocks so I could come to court and then be sent back to Bangladesh,' he told the court, according to the Star newspaper.

The court punished the cleaner with one day in jail and a fine of 1,200 ringgit (S$502), and asked him to report to the Malaysian immigration department after serving his sentence. -- REUTERS