KUALA TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA: A snatch thief landed in hospital with serious injuries all because he picked the wrong victim. She turned out to be a gutsy grandma.

Meriam Chik, 63, was on her way home to Marang when the 31-year-old suspect rode up from behind and tried to grab her gold chain.

The grandma kicked him off the motorcycle and continuously hit him with a sharp weapon that she had grabbed from the five-foot way.

The suspect begged her to stop assaulting him but the infuriated old lady showed no mercy.

"Mu tak molek (you are disgusting)," she said, and continued bashing the suspect.

She then tied both of his hands with a piece of rope and gagged his mouth with tissue paper before calling the police.

Upon arriving at the scene, the police called an ambulance to rush the suspect to the hospital.

The suspect, from Bukit Payung, was warded at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital here where his condition is reported to be serious.

Meriam, who was unhurt, went straight to the police station and lodged a report.

State CID chief Asst Comm Mohamad Hazam Abdul Halim confirmed a report had been lodged.

The suspect is high on the police wanted list and is believed to have been involved in a spate of snatch thefts in the city.