Indebted Malaysian man tells loan sharks to burn mum’s house, kidnap her grandchild

The woman said her gambling-addicted son asked the lenders to scare her into paying his debts after she cut all ties with him

First they splashed her house in Malaysia with red paint. Now, loan sharks are threatening to burn the house of a 58-year-old woman and kidnap her grandchild because her debtor son has asked them to do so.

The woman, known only as Teh, said her 31-year-old son told the loan sharks to scare her into paying his debts.

She said her son has an online gambling habit and started borrowing money from an ah long (illegal moneylender).

In July last year, she was shocked to find her house splashed with red paint.

“At that time, my son, who works as a delivery man in Singapore, pleaded with me for help.

“I borrowed money from relatives and friends to settle his 30,000 ringgit (US$6,952) debt. He promised to repay me 1,000 ringgit a month, but I have not seen a single sen,” she said on Wednesday.

The big scare came last month when Teh, a mother of four, received a call from a stranger.

The man threatened to set fire to her house and kidnap her granddaughter.

On April 21, her home was once again splashed with red paint, she said, adding that both she and her daughter also received threatening text messages demanding payment.

“It was then that my son confessed he had borrowed more money from an ah long he contacted through social media in March,” she said.

“I begged him to come home to sort things out, but he refused, claiming he was busy with work. I told him I would cut all ties with him.”

Desperate, Teh also sought help from Johor Bersatu public complaints bureau chief Lim Thow Siang.

“The harassment is still going on. My son apparently told them that since we had severed ties, they could do as they pleased.

“He allegedly asked them to set fire to my house to force me into paying his debt,” Teh said.

Lim said Teh has lodged two police reports over the red paint attacks.

“In my 15 years of social work, I have never encountered a case where a son tells loan sharks to burn down his mother’s house.

“I have contacted the loan sharks directly to urge them to stop harassing Teh and her family,” Lim said.

Lim also advised the public to steer away from online gambling and to avoid loan sharks, as their behaviour often leads to damaging consequences.

This story was first published by The Star