JOHOR BARU, July 18 — A 34-year-old technician’s short-term loan for his parent’s medical bills turned into a nightmare after he was allegedly scammed, harassed, and had his house splashed with red paint by an illegal moneylender here recently.
The man, who was only identified as Raymond, claimed to have lost S$6,590 (RM23,861) to the loan shark posing as a financial consultant.
He said he first found out about the financial consultant’s services on Facebook in Singapore on July 5.
“Actually, I planned to only make a S$10,000 loan for my family’s use, including medical treatment for both my parents.
“I started filling in my personal details in a link provided on the social media site, before being contacted by an individual who told me they were actually unlicensed moneylenders.
“Upon hearing that, I decided to cancel my loan application. However, the individual on the other line coerced me to make the loan, forcing me to take the lowest amount possible, which is $450 Singapore dollars,” Raymond told a press conference at the Stulang state assembly service centre in Jalan Maju, Taman Maju Jaya here today.
He was accompanied by DAP’s Stulang assemblyman, Andrew Chen Kah Eng.
According to Raymond, after receiving the money in his bank account, the illegal moneylender asked him to pay S$800 to settle the matter.
He said he immediately paid the same day as he did not want to complicate the situation further.
“I expected the matter to be settled, but the individual contacted me again and demanded for more money and made threats.
“I was worried and made a further payment of S$5,700, where I had to borrow S$4,000 from a friend to settle the problem,” he said.
However, Raymond said his ordeal did not stop despite making the payments that was more than the original sum borrowed.
“The illegal moneylender asked me to pay another S$15,000 because I did not proceed with the loan.
“They threw paint at my friend’s house in Sri Stulang last Friday as well as my house in Permas Jaya yesterday,” he said.
Raymond said he lodged two police reports at the Toa Payoh Police Station in Singapore on July 13 as he believed the illegal moneylenders would continue to harass him.
“I also lodged four police reports in Johor as I was worried about my safety,” he said.
Raymond said that he regrets clicking the Facebook link and urged others not to be duped by such unscrupulous people on social media sites that take advantage of other’s personal information.
He advised others to avoid responding to online advertisements offering loans or investment opportunities to avoid falling victim to such scams.
