Debt-free family terrorised by loan sharks

JOHOR BARU: For the past week, he has been living in dread of loan sharks harming him or his family.

The irony is that Gabriel Tan, 48, said that none of them had taken any loans from loan sharks.

Tan, a manager in an education company, said the nightmare began last Tuesday when loan sharks splashed red paint on his house near Masai here.

“The harassment became worse when they threw a Molotov cocktail, which damaged the front part of my house on Saturday, ” he said.

Tan, who is single, was at home with his 74-year-old mother and brother.

“Luckily, none of us was injured, ” he said.

Tan shared his plight at a press conference organised by Pasir Gudang MCA public complaints deputy bureau chief Ang Tun Chek here yesterday.

He said the loan sharks were so brazen they even sent him a video via WhatsApp of them throwing the Molotov cocktail. The video, sent via a Singapore mobile number, was a short clip taken from a moving car, in which no one could be seen.

“They also sent me a video which showed my second house in Melaka, which I currently rent out to a family there. I really do not know how they got my number or my home address, ” he said.

Tan urged the loan sharks to leave his family alone as they had never borrowed money from them.

“My brother and I are worried about my mother’s safety as she is usually at home alone due to our work commitments elsewhere.

“She is badly affected by the incidents. Each time my mother hears a dog barking or a car passing by, she would become restless, ” he said.

Tan said he and his brother had lodged three police reports so far.

Ang said he hoped the police would be able to arrest those responsible for harassing the family.Seri Alam OCPD Supt Ismail Dollah confirmed the reports and said investigations were ongoing, He urged those with information to contact the state police hotline at 07-221 2999 or lodge a report at the nearest police station.