KUALA LUMPUR: You never know how much you end up owing when you borrow from a loan shark. Handphone salesman You Chan Sing found this out the hard way.
In December last year, he borrowed RM120,000 from a group of loan sharks and, with the help of his family, settled the loan in January.
However, the loan sharks are now after him for the repayment of more money that he allegedly borrowed and has yet to return.
You, when relating his story at the office of MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong today, said he had offered his handphone as collateral for the RM120,000 loan.
He did not explain why the loan shark would accept the phone, whose value was nowhere close to the amount he borrowed. Usually loan sharks take the borrower’s bank card to get access to his account.
But before he handed over his phone, You deactivated the sim card. After he repaid the loan, a runner to a loan shark went to his workplace on the premise of repairing the very same phone he offered as collateral.
On Feb 9, You’s father, fearing that his son had borrowed more money, switched on the phone and found several WhatsApp messages from loan sharks demanding that he made good his other loans.
You denied borrowing more money. He lodged a police report on Feb 10.
In another case, a woman identified as Chan asked that loan sharks stop harassing her for the return of money her former husband had borrowed.
She also wants the loan sharks to either clean her house or pay for cleaning services after it was splashed with red paint on Feb 21.
“I have nothing to do with my ex-husband. But now I dare not go home after seeing my house covered in red paint,” she said.
Chong said a CCTV footage showed a man splashing the paint on her house. Chan lodged a police report on Feb 26.
