KUALA LUMPUR: Loan shark operations and online gambling activities are suspected to be run by the same criminal syndicates, particularly during major sporting events such as the World Cup.
MCA Youth deputy chief Mike Chong, who disclosed this, said complaints received by the party showed that the majority of borrowers who sought help had fallen into debt after losing money through gambling.
“The situation is expected to worsen during the World Cup season, when gamblers may be approached by loan sharks offering loans to settle debts.
“We believe the loan shark and gambling syndicates are operated by the same groups based on the modus operandi used,” he said at a press conference organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong at Wisma MCA here yesterday.
Mike advised the public to be cautious, warning that loan sharks also harass family members through intimidation if loans are not settled.
Meanwhile, Michael said borrowers should also bear responsibility for exposing innocent family members to danger when they fail to repay their loans.
As of June this year, he said the department had received 159 complaints involving loans amounting to nearly RM16mil from 1,679 loan sharks.
“There are cases where loan sharks demand an additional RM700 to close a case even though the borrower only took RM1,000.
“When questioned, they claimed the money was to cover the cost of splashing red paint on the victim’s house,” he said.
Michael added that some loan sharks had imposed interest charges amounting to as much as RM21,000 for a RM1,000 loan, claiming that their bank accounts had been frozen following complaints lodged against them.
A 29-year-old borrower, said he was forced to pay a service charge following a red paint attack on his home on May 23.
“I could not afford to repay the loan because the interest became too high. Now, I am also being forced to bear additional costs because of the red paint incident.”
Another victim, who wanted to be known only as Loh, said his family had been living in fear after being harassed by five different loan sharks since May.
He claimed the syndicates had posted his family’s personal details on social media and continued to threaten them.
“My brother has a long-standing gambling addiction.
“Our family has spent the past 20 years trying to help settle more than RM200,000 in debts he accumulated with loan sharks.”
