NGO founder aids homeless man after viral video shows him abused outside a Kuala Lumpur bank

MALAYSIA: NGO founder Tony Lian felt sickened after seeing a viral clip showing a homeless man being kicked and sprayed with water outside a bank in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. 

Lian — affectionately known as Uncle Tony — runs Food4U, an NGO that feeds the poor and homeless weekly. “You cannot treat another human being that way,” he said. “He needs to be treated with dignity.”

A Determined Search for the Victim

Moved by what he saw, the 70-year-old pensioner walked through Taman Maluri, checking every corner in hopes of finding the victim.

He eventually found the man — Safiudween, in his late 30s — lying near another bank about 600 metres away, exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed.

“When I offered him a place to stay, he started to cry,” Lian recalled. The man told him: “I am hungry, I am tired, I have no home.”

Lian brought him to one of his small shelters, where Safiudween received food, clean clothes and a proper bed for the first time in days. “When he saw his new bed, he was overjoyed,” Lian said.

Public Backlash and Bank Apology

The viral video drew widespread condemnation online, showing a security guard spraying the man with water, followed by another individual kicking him and throwing his belongings.

AmBank later apologised, saying it was “deeply concerned and saddened,” adding that the guard worked for an external security company, while the other man was believed to be a cobbler frustrated with the victim’s presence.

The bank stressed that all personnel representing the institution, including vendors, are expected to uphold professional conduct.

Lian said that once Safiudween recovers emotionally and physically, he will help him find a job to get back on his feet.