A Taiwanese man was bitten on the scrotum by a snake when he sat down on the toilet last Friday.
The 50-year-old, known as Lin, told the Taipei Times that he has since developed a phobia and will only use a newly-bought plastic latrine.
Lin, from Nantou County, said: "I felt an excruciating pain in my lower body, like someone had stabbed me with a knife, shortly after sitting on the toilet bowl. I stood up immediately and saw blood oozing from my crotch.
"It was the snake's signal for help when it bit me. If it hadn't, maybe it would have been stuck in the septic tank and either suffocated or starved to death. It looked like an accident but it was actually fate."
The snake was later identified as a non-venomous Taiwan Beauty Ratsnake, which may have got into the plumbing system through a cracked lid in the septic tank.