Family living in fear after son falls victim to loan sharks

JOHOR BARU: A local family is living in fear after being targeted by illegal moneylenders over a loan application submitted by their son in Singapore.

Hoo Chong Kang, 58, said his 35-year-old son, who has been working as a lorry driver in Singapore for the past five years, came across a money-lending offer on social media in November.

“He has a girlfriend and often buys her gifts, sometimes leaving him with little money,” Hoo said in a press conference organised by Iskandar Puteri MP special representative Ng Siam Luang at Taman Universiti here on Monday (Dec 8).

Hoo said that his son initially intended to borrow SG$10,000 (RM31,743), but the loan shark offered him SG$30,000 (RM95,229) instead.

He said when his son’s loan application was rejected, the money lender demanded payment, claiming they had incurred “losses” in processing the application.

“Out of fear, he borrowed SG$7,000 (RM22,220) from his friends to pay them. After that, they demanded another SGD4,000 (RM12,697), which he did not have,” he added.

Hoo stated that it was at this point that his son revealed the situation to him, as the lenders based in Singapore had access to their relatives’ information in Malaysia.

He said the loan shark introduced his son to another moneylender, who offered another loan to settle the debt, requiring an additional SGD3,000 (RM9,521) processing fee, but his son declined the offer.

He added that on Nov 28, he received threatening phone calls from the syndicate.

“The threats seemed like a scam at first, but on Saturday (Dec 6) at around 4.18am, I smelled something burning outside my home.

“When I checked, I found the front porch on fire and a threatening note left on the gate,” he said.

Since then, Hoo and his family have been living in fear, while some other members have been staying at a relative’s house.

“I have been having sleepless nights, but I told my son not to be afraid because neither he nor I borrow money from loan sharks, and we will get through this as a family,” he added.

Hoo has lodged two police reports in Malaysia, while his son has filed one in Singapore.

Meanwhile, a police official confirmed the reports lodged by Hoo, and the investigation was ongoing.