PETALING JAYA: Employers should be wary after several cases were reported of foreign domestic helpers borrowing money from illegal moneylenders before absconding to their country of origin.
MCA public services and complaints bureau chief Datuk Seri Michael Chong said all employers of domestic workers must be alert, especially if their employees want to quit suddenly.
He said many employers have been caught by surprise when illegal moneylenders suddenly surface, looking for the borrowers to recover the loans.
"By then, the employees have already resigned from their job and have left the country," said Chong in a statement on Thursday (Oct 21).
He added that some of these employees were secretly involved in online gambling and some had the intention to cheat these loan sharks as they knew that they would be leaving the country soon.
"The ah longs deserve it because they lent money without any securities. But some told me they got tricked because they were their regular customers and they didn't expect that these borrowers would abscond," said Chong, adding that this usually involves amounts of money up to RM10,000.
Chong said a recent case happened to a very prominent Tan Sri who had employed his Filipino maid for many years.
"She suddenly quit her job to return home last week. After she left, the Tan Sri found a notice being pasted at his gate, with the notice to contact a certain handphone number,” said Chong.
"He suspected something amiss and requested my advice. I called the number given and found that it was a loan shark who demanded the money owed by his Filipino maid," said Chong.
However, after Chong explained the situation to the loan shark, he apologised as he was not aware of the situation and assured that it would not happen again.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
