Dead couple believed to owe loan sharks RM100,000

Tragic end: Sim (left) and Tan said to have died of suffocation.

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The couple found dead at Bayu Mutiara flats in Bukit Tengah are believed to have owed about RM100,000 to several Ah Long.

Central Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said police found a list of names inside the living room and also two notes written in Chinese.

“We believe the couple borrowed about RM100,000 from the nine names suspected to be Ah Long. The first note reads ‘If the woman survives, my RM20,000 Employees Provident Fund will be given to her’ while the second note says ‘If the caskets are bought for both, buy the cheapest and dispose of our ashes in the river’,” he said in a statement yesterday.

ACP Nik Ros said the bodies of factory operator Sim Hun Khong, 47, and Tam Soo Sim, 35, were found lying side by side on a bed at about 4pm on Sunday.

“We found two stoves with burnt charcoal beside the bed. The gap under the door of the room was blocked with a cloth to prevent smoke from escaping while the main door was locked with a padlock.

“We believe they could have been dead for more than three days,” he added.

ACP Nik Ros said two weeks ago, Tam informed her family about facing financial difficulties and had borrowed money from loan sharks.

“The last time they met her was on Mothers Day on May 14, when her family gave her RM3,500,” he added. Tam’s brother and family members claimed her body at the Seberang Jaya Hospital mortuary.

“She was the youngest of three siblings. We haven’t informed our mother yet about her death,” said the brother, who declined to be identified. Sim’s family members arrived later to collect his body but declined to speak to reporters. The bodies were cremated at the Berapit Chinese Cemetery yesterday. The case has been classified as sudden death.

A neighbour described the couple as friendly and loving.

“They planned to get married soon,” said the neighbour, who declined to be identified.

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