A woman in Malaysia, who stashed away RM30,000 (S$8,750) of savings in a cardboard box, found her money reduced to bits of paper after termites ate the banknotes.

The money was for her pilgrimage to Mecca in 2024.

Her grandson, Khairul Azhar, posted a photo of the aftermath of the money on Facebook on July 24.

Khairul lives in Kelantan.

He said half of the eaten banknotes were brought to the Central Bank of Malaysia as he hoped they could be exchanged for fresh ones.

The remaining notes were too badly damaged.

Khairul said his grandmother is probably not fated to go to Mecca.

He also said it was advisable not to store large amounts of money at home.

Previously, another grandmother supposedly lost some RM300,000 (S$87,500) to pests in 2020.

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