IPOH: A man’s dream of owning a house became a nightmare after he lost about S$10,900 (RM33,737) in a scam linked to loan sharks.
The 41-year-old chef, who only wishes to be known as Ha and works in Singapore, said he initially planned to buy a house in Johor Baru and came across an advertisement on Facebook in August last year, which included a bank loan application.
“I clicked on the link and proceeded to apply,” he told a press conference organised by Pasir Pinji assemblyman Goh See Hua here yesterday.
“I was then contacted by a housing agent who requested various personal and financial documents, including my working permit, Singapore bank account details, residential address, salary slips and other supporting documents.
“I submitted all the required documents as I believed the loan to be valid,” he said, adding that further enquiries revealed the loan’s connection to loan sharks.
“That prompted me to cease pursuing the application, and I informed him to withdraw it.
“The agent initially told me that it was fine to withdraw, but a few minutes later, an individual identifying himself as Max contacted me using the phone number +65 8829 9903.
“He told me the loan had already been approved and that I have to take it whether I wanted it or not,” he added.
Ha said he asked Max not to force him to accept the loan.
“However, about S$700 was later transferred to my bank account without my knowledge, and he even sent me a receipt.
“He demanded that I repay S$1,300 to resolve the issue. Out of fear and panic, I transferred the amount.
“However, Max claimed that the payments were not received and began threatening to burn my family’s house in Ipoh and target my workplace if I did not continue making payments,” he added.
Fearing for his safety, Ha made repeated payments of S$300 every Wednesday from Sept 17, 2025 until April 8 this year, amounting to 32 transactions.
He also said the loan shark had sent p-hailing riders to call out his name at his residence in Singapore when he was not around.
“The loan shark had obtained my hometown address in Ipoh, despite me never providing them the information.
“They threw kerosene bottles at my family home in Ipoh twice, setting the porch on fire on April 24 and again on May 5. The loan sharks also threatened to burn my neighbour’s house,” he said.
Ha has lodged police reports in Singapore and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Goh advised the public to apply for loans directly from official banks and deal with authorised financial institutions.
He reminded the public not to click on loan advertisements or suspicious links online.
“If you encounter a similar problem to the case above, please lodge a police report first,” he said.
