KUALA LUMPUR: A woman's posing as a beggar with a fake amputated leg was exposed by a vigilant netizen, revealing her deceitful tactics to gain public sympathy.
In a video shared on the X platform yesterday by @update11111, a woman known as Mak Cik Nida exposed the beggar at a local market, although the exact location remains unclear.
The 80-second video, which garnered over 200,000 views, shows numerous people unhesitatingly handing money to the woman, moved by the sight of her supposedly amputated leg.
Confronting the woman after her begging stint, Nida recorded her with both legs intact.
"She was so scared, she ran into the men's restroom. You've made a lot of money, haven't you? Clever girl," Nida said in the video.
When questioned about her origins, the woman refused to answer and simply apologised before leaving.
Nida's interaction with the beggar suggested she might be a foreign national.
The revelation stunned social media users, many expressing shock and admitting to being frequently deceived by similar scams.
"I once emptied my pockets full of coins to give as alms. (The beggar) had the audacity to refuse, pushing my hand away and saying he doesn't accept coins," says user @Capt_Mundy
"Sometimes I see them collecting more than my salary. I work day and night, (as if) almost losing my pancreas, and I only make RM40 a day," says user @darimi_hasif
"Stop giving alms like this. It encourages more people like this to appear. If you want to give charity, it's better to do it through mosques, Baitulmal (for tithe), or trusted NGOs," user @rijal_faiz suggested.