PUBLISHED ONMarch 05, 2024 7:40 AMByBhavya RawatHe repaid his debt many times over, but loan sharks continued to hound his family for months.
A Malaysian man working in Singapore took a $300 loan online and ended up repaying a total of $15,000, China Press reported.
On Monday (March 4), Yang Zhiyong, 25, asked the loan sharks in question to stop harassing him as he had repaid his debt.
In a press conference held that day, Yang shared that he had borrowed $300 from loan sharks via social media in August last year as he was short of money while in between jobs.
They assured Yang that if the debt was repaid within five days with a $150 interest, there would be no further charges.
Although Yang followed their instructions, the loan shark asked for another $450, citing various excuses.
The loan sharks then claimed that they could not withdraw the money without a code, and asked Yang to pay them the $450 once more.
Not wanting any further trouble, Yang transferred the money to the loan sharks both times.
After receiving the second payment, however, the loan sharks told Yang that the first fund transfer caused their bank account to get locked.
They then demanded another $11,000 from Yang to make up for the loss of funds in the bank account, which Yang refused to pay.
Following the continuous demands for money, Yang felt that the loan sharks were scammers and decided to ignore their messages.
This led to Yang's home in Johor Bahru being splashed with red paint in October and November last year.
Following this, he transferred $14,000 to the loan shark, hoping it would resolve matters.
However, his home was splashed with paint a third time and even set on fire on Jan 24.
The loan shark also left a threatening note written in red ink on Yang's gate.
Yang said that he has reported the incident to the police and his mother has moved out of the home temporarily for her safety.
At the press conference, Director of the Johor Public Bureau (PCB) Clement Wong stated that the loan sharks Yang encountered are likely scammers pretending to be moneylenders.
He advised the public to only pay off their debt to such loan sharks and block them if they demand more money.
"As soon as the scammers know they won't get a dime, they will stop harassing them," he said.
Wong added that he had attempted to contact the loan shark who was harassing Yang, but the number was no longer in use.
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com