The woman, who was not identified, was heading to a grocery store late afternoon near her house here on Thursday when a man confronted her and held a sickle to her neck.
He dragged her to a dark spot nearby, pushing her to the ground and demanding cash and jewellery, police told local Malay paper Harian Metro.
When she refused, he reached into her pocket and took out the money and her mobile phone and then tried to remove her clothes.
"The woman took the chance to kick him. He lost his balance and the sickle fell from his hands. The woman quickly grabbed the sickle and slashed his genitals," police said.
Snatch thefts have been plaguing the city for years now. PTI JB