Days after a home in Kluang, Johor, was burnt to the ground after an ‘Ah Long’ threw several Molotov cocktails over an unpaid debt, another home suffered a similar attack as well.
Thankfully, no property was severely damaged and the fire was put out in the nick of time, averting disaster.
Johor home gets petrol bombed
According to China Press and Sin Chew Daily, the victim of the arson attack was a woman named Zhao (transliteration), who recounted how it all unfolded.
She said early in the morning of Sept 3, her home in Taman Matahari had three Molotov cocktails being thrown, with two landing at the compound and one at the balcony.
The loan shark was caught in action on her neighbour’s CCTV, where the timestamp showed her throwing the petrol bombs at around 4.30am.
Fortunately, Zhao’s dog kept barking incessantly and this roused her husband from his sleep, allowing him to put out the flames in time.
The only damages sustained was a slightly blackened flight of stairs and car door.
Debt belonged to former owner’s sister
Zhao said a threatening note demanding a debt be repaid and a Singaporean number written on it was left at the scene.
When she contacted the loan shark, the latter said a person named Lim had owed them money and angrily asked for money.
We recalled that the former owner’s surname was Lim, so we contacted him. He later admitted that his sister, who was working in Singapore, had fallen for a “forced loan scam” and owed money.
“The former owner also said while he doesn’t know how much his sister owes, she had already lodged a police report in Singapore,” said Zhao.
‘I still live in fear’
Zhao lodged a police report on the same day of the attack and was later contacted by police on Sept 7, where she was informed that the culprit had been caught.
Despite the arrest, Zhao found little comfort in it, admitting that she still fears for her family’s safety.
“I live together with six other family members in the same house and we are afraid that another group of loan sharks may come after us,” she said.
To add a further twist to the story, the culprit turned out to be the same person who carried out a similar act at another home within the same week:
