"I was hit with a baton, kicked and they almost stabbed my stomach," said Malaysian Ambassador to Chile Mohamad Rameez Yahaya, 48, referring to the incident when his official residence in Las Condes , Santiago, was broken into on Monday.

He said his family experienced extreme trauma as a result of the incident, including his wife, who had to seek medical help as she almost had a heart attack due to breathing difficulties.

"My wife was threatened ... with her mouth, hands, and feet being tied. It is sad when my children's hands and feet were also tied except for my eldest son.

"Our five children slept with my wife and me on the day of the incident in the main room. The robbers tried to pry open (the room door of) my 14-year-old son, who slept in the room in the upper floor but failed.

"My body is still aching and weak after being hit by them. At the time of the incident... I thought that I was going to die," he said when contacted by Bernama.

He said as a result of the incident, two of their younger children suffered from high fever and he was warded for three hours.

However, Mohamad Rameez was grateful that his family members were safe.

"The phone which I am using now was found by the police in the school compound near my home," he said.

He said so far no arrests had been made.

Mohamad Rameez said that he would return to Malaysia next week for four days and would meet Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

He said the robbers fled with cash, valuables including jewelry worth between RM60,000 to RM100,000.

"Personal belongings which went missing included handbags, watches, wedding rings and jewelry from my late mother," he said.

-- Bernama