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A 20-year-old gig worker in Segamat faces a RM15,000 demand from loan sharks after his family’s home was splashed with red paint over an unpaid debt of RM750.

The Chinese youth, identified only as Tong, told a press conference on Saturday that he had borrowed from the same group of loan sharks four times between 21 June and 14 July, each time repaying each loan in full until the final RM1,500 borrowing, of which only RM750 was repaid.

Unable to pay the rest, Tong stopped responding to the lender’s messages from 24 July and blocked the chat.

He said the loan sharks kept pressing him, warning that unpaid interest would keep compounding his debt.

The Warning Came In Red

Two days before the press conference, his family’s home was splashed with red paint. Tong said the lender sent him a video of the attack afterwards, warning that “next time it won’t just be paint.”

Tong said he asked for a compromise, but the lender allegedly said the red paint attack had incurred costs and that Tong had been blacklisted – pushing his RM750 debt to RM15,000. He said the lender added that reporting it to police “wouldn’t matter,” since more “surprises” would follow.

Tong said he could only scrape together RM500, and that the lender mocked him, telling him to keep the money to buy paint thinner instead, to clean his own floor.

Tong’s father said his wife received a message on Friday from someone claiming to be the loan shark’s “manager,” who he said already had her name, identity card number and home address.

He said the family had already helped pay off Tong’s previous debts to loan sharks, and could raise at most RM1,000 this time. If that isn’t accepted, he said, the family has no other options.

Bekok MCA assemblyman-elect Tan Chong, who attended the press conference, urged young people not to chase quick wins through gambling or borrow from loan sharks, warning that the debt only snowballs. He appealed to the loan sharks to go easy on the family given their financial situation.

Not An Isolated Case

Splashing red paint on a home to intimidate a family isn’t a new tactic. Earlier this month, a Kepong homeowner said her house was targeted the same way.

Leong, 46, bought her Kepong house in 2012, two years after the previous owner’s son had allegedly borrowed from loan sharks. In February, a demand notice addressed to him turned up in her mailbox, even though he had already denied the debt in a police report.

On July 25, her house was splashed with red paint at 2.30am. She said this was followed by a voice message threatening to burn it down, and that the loan shark had demanded RM20,000 over an alleged RM5,000 debt. Leong refused to pay a debt that wasn’t hers, and said motorcycles circled her house on 2 and 3 August to intimidate her family.

MCA’s Michael Chong said innocent homebuyers should not be made to answer for a previous occupant’s debts. MCA Federal Territories Legal Bureau chief Victor Teoh said the threats could amount to extortion under Section 383 of the Penal Code, punishable by up to 10 years’ jail, a fine, whipping, or a combination of these.

READ MORE: [Watch] Loan Sharks Beaten And Chased Behind Kepong MCA Building, Says DAP MP

READ MORE: A 19-Year-Old University Student Said No To A Second Loan, Then The Real Bill Arrived

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