JOHOR BARU: A 61-year-old father has publicly disowned his 29-year-old son after the latter allegedly incurred debts with loan sharks, which he believes stemmed from his son’s gambling habit.
The father, who wished to be known only as Chan, said he had repeatedly given money to his second child since October last year after the son sought financial assistance on several occasions.
“My son, who works at a factory in Singapore, initially asked for RM4,000, followed by RM5,000 and RM7,000, giving various reasons including wanting to start a business and being caught smuggling cigarettes into the island republic.
“We do not know whether what he told us was true, but I gave him the money because he is my son and I did not want to see him get into trouble,” he said during a press conference organised by Johor Jaya constituency community centre director Lee Wern Yiing here on Thursday (Aug 20).
Chan said his son, the second of three children, later asked the family for another RM13,000 in April but they decided not to provide the money.
“He then told us that he kept asking for money because he had borrowed from loan sharks. However, he did not tell us how much he owed or why he had borrowed the money in the first place.
“I believe he has a gambling problem. As a father, this is my instinct. I believe he got himself into this situation because of this bad habit,” he said.
Chan said the family had nevertheless decided to help his son one more time by paying almost RM16,000 to settle the debts, believing that this would put an end to the problem.
However, he said the family received another shock in May when his eldest daughter received a text message from an alleged loan shark claiming that his son still owed money and demanding that the family settle the debt.
“We refused to pay. Then, last Monday (Aug 17), a loan shark came to our house, left a note on our gate and warned us to pay my son’s debt,” he said.
Chan said the incident had left him worried for the safety of his family and prompted him to cut ties with his son.
“I am already 61. I cannot continue paying his debts. I have decided to cut off contact with him,” he said.
Chan said he no longer had contact with his son and was also uncertain about his current workplace and address.
He said he was making the matter public to distance himself and his family from any debts or demands that might subsequently be made by loan sharks.
Chan urged his son to take responsibility for his actions and resolve his problems without involving other family members.
