Retired teacher gives up on debt-ridden son

Enough is enough: Saw (left) and Chia holding up announcements they had placed in local Chinese newspapers. With them is Mok during a press conference in Johor Baru yesterday.

JOHOR BARU: After two decades of repeatedly bailing out her son from debt, a single mother has finally decided to sever ties with him after he borrowed money from multiple loan sharks.

Retired teacher Chia Hui Chiang, 62, said she had forked out about RM100,000 to pay off the debts.

“He would beg me for help each time and I always felt sorry for him.

“I even used up my retirement funds and yet he is deep in his habits of gambling and drug abuse,” she claimed.

“He packed his belongings and left home on May 21 and that was the last we heard from him.

“In the following days, his creditors started harassing me and my two daughters to pay off his debts amounting to RM59,100, not including interest,” she told a press conference called by Johor MCA Youth public services and complaints bureau chief Henry Mok here yesterday.

Chia had publicly disowned her son by placing an announcement in a Chinese newspaper, urging loan sharks to look for him to pay off his debts.

Chia’s daughter Saw Shi Ling, said her 36-year-old brother had worked in the logistics industry in Singapore for the past four years but lost his job about two weeks before he ran away from home.

“He stayed in his room all the time. When we confronted him, he told us he was in financial trouble. He also revealed that he borrowed money from at least 28 ah long (illegal moneylenders),” said the clerk.

Saw, 38, said that over the years, there had been occasions when red paint and Molotov cocktails were thrown at her mother and elder sister’s homes.

“Cutting ties with my brother was not an easy decision for us to make, but we have had enough and are worried about our safety. After he ran away, loan sharks have been calling and sending us messages day and night.

“Some of them also compiled photos of my family and relatives and posted them on social media claiming that we owed them money,” said Saw.

Mok advised the public not to borrow money from illegal sources as this would create issues for the borrower and their loved ones down the road.

Johor Baru Selatan OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat said he would also look into the matter.