Photo: LOW LAY PHON/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Loan sharks set fire to a house in Kluang belonging to the parents of a 33-year-old assistant manager after she changed her mind about taking a RM10,000 loan.
The victim, who only wanted to be identified as Lam and works in Singapore, said she was harassed by the loan sharks who demanded S$20,000 (RM64,000) after she decided not to take the loan.
Speaking at a press conference organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong at Wisma MCA here on Monday (Nov 10), Lam said that since early October, several notices were pasted on her mother’s house threatening to set the house on fire.
She claimed that this happened even after she had paid off the extortionists for a loan she never took.
Her elderly parents and two children aged under five were at home during the fire, but luckily, neighbours helped put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
Fearing for her family’s safety, Lam said she deposited S$27,400 (RM87,500) into separate bank accounts provided by the loan sharks on several occasions to put the matter to a rest.
However, they continued to hound her.
Despite lodging eight police reports in Malaysia and Singapore, Lam continues to live in fear for her safety and that of her family.
Meanwhile, Chong advised the public to be extra cautious as loan sharks have become so vicious that they subject victims to perilous situations when their demands are not met.
"They are wicked extortionists. They set fires to their victims' houses and their extended family members, even when they know there are old folks and children inside," he said.
In a separate case, which was also raised at the press conference, two sisters are in a quandary after being constantly harassed for loans taken by their estranged father.
The man who has a history of borrowing from loan sharks got into trouble again recently after he took a foreign wife.
The sisters said they had previously helped him repay debts amounting to about RM100,000, which he borrowed from loan sharks.
“Our father rarely contacted us. He only did so when he needed money. After our mother passed away, he remarried a Vietnamese woman without our knowledge. We only knew this when an ah long called us and produced their marriage certificate,” said one of the sisters, who only wanted to be known as Khow, aged 37.
She added that her sister’s shop in Johor was splashed with red paint, and they had received numerous unknown calls demanding repayment of their father’s debts.
“We have lodged police reports in Gombak and Johor on Aug 1 and Aug 16. Our father has failed to repent and turn away from his wayward life and today, we want to declare that we have disowned him and he is no longer our father,” added Khow.
