There’s a phrase that goes, “Once bitten, twice shy”, meaning that after a person learns a lesson the hard way, it’s unlikely for them to make the same mistake again as they’ve paid a hefty price for it.
Unfortunately, a 27-year-old man didn’t seem to recognise the error of his ways and found himself seeking financial assistance from the same people who made his life a living hell previously.
Sought help from loan sharks
The man, who’s simply known as Zhou (transliteration), told reporters at a press conference that he had previously owed loan sharks a whopping RM100,000 due to his gambling addiction.
As such, his family were forced to drain their life savings to settle the debt.
Wanting to ease the burden of his family who paid the debt on his behalf, Zhou thought it was a good idea to turn to loan sharks and borrowed RM2,700 and RM2,800 from two separate syndicates.
I wanted to repay what I owed my family and reduce their burden, so I recklessly turned to loan sharks again without thinking through the consequences,” he admitted.
Harassment & threats
After obtaining the loans, Zhou realised that he couldn’t keep up with repayments, opening the door to yet another round of harassment, with the loan sharks threatening to set his family’s house on fire and splash paint on it.
Left with no recourse, Zhou turned to MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong for help.
However, Chong’s attempts to renegotiate terms with the loan sharks have not been successful thus far.
“One of the syndicates is demanding RM88,000. Although Chong contacted them to negotiate, they insisted the amount is non-negotiable and even challenged me to lodge a police report.
“As for the other syndicate, my family offered them RM10,000, which is inclusive of the principal and interest. However, they rejected the offer and have yet to specify how much they are demanding,” lamented Zhou.
Meanwhile, Chong said despite repeated warnings about the dangers of borrowing from loan sharks, some continue to ignore the consequences and have caused their families to suffer.
He added that while the government should continue cracking down on illegal lending activities, it should also consider introducing laws targeting borrowers in order to address the root problem.
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