ISKANDAR PUTERI, May 18 — A 37-year-old food stall operator is worried for his family’s safety and well-being after a “scammer” threatened him by demanding that he settle a debt of RM12,000 which has already been settled.
The victim Ng Chen Yuan said that he initially borrowed RM14,000 from three different ‘Ah Long’ (loan shark) groups in early March for his food stall business at that time.
Shortly thereafter, he said an individual had contacted him, claiming that he could settle the debt with only a payment of RM10,000.
“Due to hastiness in trying to settle my debts, I believed the individual and gave him RM5,000. However, he then fled and failed to be contacted.
“It was then that I decided to deal directly with the three ‘Ah Long’ and managed to fully settle my debts at the end of April this year,” said Ng during a media conference at the Gelang Patah MCA division office in the SILC Industrial Area here today.
Thinking that his problems were settled, Ng said another individual contacted him and demanded that he pay RM12,000 on the loan shark debt that he had just cleared.
“The said individual used personal documents such as copies of identity cards and photos of my family members posted on various Facebook accounts claiming that I owed him money.
“He also shared pictures of my sister’s parents and family in order to embarrass me as well as threatening me to make the payment,” he said.
As a result, Ng said he took it upon himself to contact the three loan shark groups that he had previously borrowed money from to enquire about his current predicament.
“All three groups informed me that the so-called ‘scammer’ was not linked to them at all,” he said, adding that he has since lodged two police reports on the threats and harassment from the individual.
Checks showed that Ng lodged two police reports at the Gelang Patah police station, which falls under the Iskandar Puteri police district, on April 22 and 25.
Meanwhile, MCA Complaints and Public Service Bureau national deputy chief Chua Jian Boon urged other victims facing the same situation as Ng to come forward to lodge a police report and complaint.
“We hope that the police will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter as to ensure that the irresponsible individual does not deceive more victims in future,” he said.
