Woman threatened despite divorcing husband last year
KUALA LUMPUR: After spending thousands of ringgit to settle her ex-husband’s debts, a manager is still living in fear.
She has been repeatedly harassed by loan sharks over an alleged debt linked to him, despite their divorce last year.
The woman, who wishes to be known as Yuen, said she began receiving threatening WhatsApp calls early this month demanding RM25,000 allegedly borrowed by her ex-husband.
The 50-year-old said she was threatened after denying responsibility for the debt.
“I told them I am divorced and have nothing to do with him, but they said they don’t care,” she said at a press conference organised by the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department at its headquarters here yesterday.
Yuen said she lodged a police report after the harassment escalated, including threats against her two school-going children.
“They sent my identity card details and family photos and said they have all my information.
“They warned me to be careful and threatened to come to my house,” she said, adding that she does not know her ex-husband’s whereabouts, only that he was a former taxi driver.
The borrower’s 88-year-old father has also been drawn into the case despite his frail condition.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said the elderly man had sought help more than a decade ago when his son first got involved with loan sharks.
Chong said MCA had previously helped settle more than RM140,000 in debts between 2012 and 2013.
“He has not changed and continues borrowing from loan sharks and misusing company funds,” he said.
He added that the family had repaid more than RM176,000 in total, including RM12,000 paid by the ex-wife last November and RM19,000 in February this year, while jewellery had also been pawned.
Chong said MCA has received 34 cases involving loan shark debts totalling about RM9.4mil, urging the public to avoid borrowing from illegal lenders.
