KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: An Iraqi lecturer's holiday turned sour when he lost his sling bag to a group of men at the Berjaya Times Square monorail station in Jalan Imbi on Friday.

Safwan Hussien Abdullah said the bag contained his passport, US$3,300 (RM12,540), a handphone and his Iraqi and Tikrit University identification card.

He said several men surrounded him while he was waiting to catch the monorail at 10.40 am.

"They tapped my shoulder and held on to my shirt. They talked in a language I could not understand. They then walked away."

Several minutes later, Safwan realised that his bag was missing. He lodged a report at the Dang Wangi police station.
Safwan is now waiting for the Iraqi embassy to issue him a new passport to return to Iraq.