KUALA LUMPUR: Two physically impaired people are being harassed by loan sharks after a family member borrowed money from loan sharks based in Singapore.
On Oct 31, the family home in Taman Chi Liung, Klang, was splashed with red paint, an act believed to have been ordered by Singaporean loan sharks and executed by their Malaysian counterparts.
MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said such an act must stop as Than (who declined to provide his full name), who lives with his granddaughter Goh has nothing to do with any debt. Neither does Goh.
Than, 76, moves about with the help of a walking cane since suffering from a stroke, while Goh suffers from epilepsy.
Goh’s mother, Than Siew Eng, 46, has been held by Singaporean authorities in Changi jail since September for harassing other victims of loan sharks.
She had been under orders from the loan sharks to do so after failing to repay her debt.According to Goh, her mother had been working in Singapore since 2018 and returned to Malaysia when her grandfather asked her mother to help care for her grandmother who had fallen ill.
In November 2021, Siew Eng returned to Singapore and had since worked as a cleaner in a kindergarten until she was arrested by the authorities there.
Through an email, Siew Eng informed her family in Malaysia that she had borrowed money from loan sharks around Singapore and Malaysia on six occasions. The loans amounted to a total of RM16,130.
Since then, Goh and her grandfather have been harassed by different loan sharks and have been warned that if the debt isn’t paid, they will find them at their house.
“Please don’t disturb us; we are not involved.
“We are poor and disabled; our mother is in prison,” said Goh at a press conference at Wisma MCA here yesterday.
Goh’s family has since lodged police reports at the Klang Selatan police station.
“We will ask the police to take the necessary action, and we hope neighbours will take pity on this family and help them out when they are bullied,” said Chong, who added that by making the case public, loan sharks will stop harassing the family.
Chong also said that MCA is currently trying to get in touch with Siew Eng in Singapore for more details on her situation.
“We’re trying to liaise with the mother to find out what exactly happened. We don’t know how many loan sharks there are or the amount involved.
“All we know is that she did borrow money from loan sharks, and now she is in jail,” said Chong, who added that loan shark harassment cases in Malaysia are becoming a very serious problem.
From January to November, a total of 236 loan shark cases involving 2,424 lenders who loaned out more than RM28mil were referred to MCA’s attention.
“Out of these 236 cases, 196 are from the Chinese community, 26 from the Malay community and 14 from the Indian community,” said Chong, who urged the public to borrow only from licensed moneylenders as they are bound by government regulations.
