Online shopping undoubtedly offers us a lot of convenience as it allows us to browse through and purchase thousands of products at our fingertips.
However, it also presents the pitfall of purchasing beyond our means and ending up with a lot of debt, which was exactly what happened to a female school bus driver.
Borrowed over RM100,000 from 52 loan sharks
Oriental Daily reported that the 30-year-old woman had such a strong addiction to online shopping that she resorted to borrowing money from 52 loan sharks to fund her spending habits.
According to her husband Lim, he said his wife became addicted to online shopping during the Movement Control Order (MCO) amid the Covid-19 pandemic and often bought large amounts of stationery, food, and toys.
He added that his family even helped to repay her debt of RM110,000 two years ago and urged her to put an end to her shopping habit, which she promised to do so.
“On Apr 15, several loan sharks turned up at our door to collect the debt and threatened us, which has caused fear among my parents, younger brothers, and three children.
“I later found out from my wife that she owed 39 loan sharks RM67,200 and borrowed RM49,500 from 13 loan sharks under my name,” said Lim.
Attempted suicide over debt
Lim said that due to this stressful incident, it caused conflict between him and his wife, where they even slept in separate rooms, reported Sin Chew Daily.
“Two days later (Apr 17), I discovered a suicide note left by my wife in the living room and rushed to the bedroom, where I found that she had ingested large amounts of Panadol and tried to hang herself.
“She was lying unconscious on the floor when I found her and I quickly rushed her to the Sungai Buloh Hospital,” he said.
Thankfully, his wife’s life was rescued from danger and is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Lim also said that he has lodged a police report after receiving multiple harassing phone calls from the loan sharks.
Also present at the press conference were MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong and Datuk Dr Lai Kwong Choy.
According to Lai, who interviewed Lim, he said that his wife had displayed signs of manic behavior, which was the reason for her compulsive shopping.
Everybody tends to spend way more during the holiday season but they would be able to stop themselves from going overboard. However, those who suffer from such manic behaviour are often unable to consider the consequences.
“Later on, they are filled with dark thoughts, which subsequently leads to depression,” he said, adding that family members should seek help if their loved ones were displaying similar behavior.
If you or anyone is suffering from mental distress and need a listening ear, please contact the following helplines:
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