JOHOR BARU: A housewife here is living in fear after being targeted by loan sharks over the debts of her estranged son.
The 45-year-old, who only wanted to be known as Siah, said she began receiving threats from multiple unknown numbers since early last month.
“They alleged that my son, whom I have not spoken to for over two years, had asked for a RM1,000 loan and had received RM500 from the moneylenders.
“Instead of going after him, they are now threatening other family members, demanding that we pay the debts on his behalf or risk having our homes burnt to the ground,” she said at a press conference arranged by Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen.
Siah said the loan sharks had initially demanded RM3,000 before increasing the amount to RM5,000 just one day later.
“The loan sharks have also been calling and sending threatening messages to my brother-in-law and my eldest son.
“What is even more terrifying is that they were able to obtain our home addresses, including the house I am currently staying at in Negri Sembilan.
“I really hope they will stop harassing us, as we had nothing to do with this at all. In fact, I have disowned my son who took the loan,” she said.
Meanwhile, Chen urged the loan sharks to leave the family alone, as they were not involved in the matter.
“I would also like to remind the public to never take up such loans, which will not only destroy their lives but also those around them.
“They should also not pay any money to such groups, as this is likely to encourage continued harassment.
“These groups could also turn out not to be loan sharks, but scammers who have obtained information about people borrowing from illegal moneylenders and are taking advantage of the situation,” he said.
He also urged the authorities to look into the matter seriously, especially since such groups were able to obtain personal information about the public.
“The fact that they are able to get people’s home addresses and phone numbers indicates that something is not right, as this is not information that anyone can easily access.
“I hope the relevant departments, including the police, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the National Registration Department, will look into this,” he said.
Caption: Siah (centre) showing one of the threatening notes she have received. Looking on is Stulang assemblyman Andrew Chen (right) and Johor Baru district village development officer Loo Nic Kee (left).
