By Joshua Foong

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - A mechanical engineer had RM200 ($S82.70) literally "washed away" when the print on his new RM50 notes disappeared after he accidentally left his wallet in the laundry.

Yeoh Jit Shiong, 25, was shocked to find that the damaged notes were almost unrecognisable on Saturday evening.

What remained were the security threads and watermarks.

"The printing was completely washed off, including the serial number.

"What's surprising is that an old RM50 note that got washed along with the new notes wasn't damaged at all," said Yeoh.

"If an old RM50 note can withstand being in a washing machine, why not the new RM50 note, which is supposed to be an improved, upgraded version?" he asked.

Yeoh had withdrawn RM300 in RM50 notes from an ATM in USJ earlier in the day.

He said the notes from the ATM were new and genuine.

"I used RM50 to pay the cashier at a petrol station, who validated it with a bank-note detector.

"With the serial numbers washed off, how am I going to take the notes back to the bank for an exchange?"