A FORTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD woman allegedly got into a spiral of debt after borrowing merely RM200 from an ‘Ah Long’ in December last year.
According to Batu Uban assemblyman A. Kumaresan, the victim, who only wanted to be known as Malini, came to know about the loan scheme via Facebook.
“She decided to borrow RM200 to cover her household food expenses as she had lost her job and was in a financial crisis.
“Later, she was asked to settle the debt together with the interest, totalling up to RM400, within a week.
“But Malini could not pay the full amount, so she only paid RM200. The interest rate was RM200 per week and she was not informed of it.
“Since then, every time the payment gets delayed the Ah Long charges an interest of RM200 and so far, she has paid a total of RM4,500 to the loan shark,” Kumaresan said during a press conference today.
Kumaresan claimed that Malini has been constantly receiving threatening messages and calls from the Ah Long which has led her to pay more than what she has borrowed.
“She (Malini) was living in fear all this while. Each time he calls or sends her messages, she will immediately bank in the money.
“The last payment that she made was on April 27 when she banked in RM3,000.
“Earlier, Malini signed an agreement for the loan, but she did not read the agreement before signing it. Only now has she found out that the sum borrowed was stated as RM3,000 instead of RM200.
“Even if it’s RM3,000 as per the agreement, she has now actually paid more than that.
“Malini has lodged a police report against the Ah Long on May 11,” he said.
Malini, who has children between the ages of 15 and 20, claimed she kept paying money to the loan shark as she feared the safety of her family.
“My husband and I are working, so when we go out for work, our children and my 65-year-old mother will be at home.
“So, I was afraid as he threatened to harm my family.
“The loan shark, after getting to know about my EPF withdrawal, was asking me for more money. Even just now he called me and told me to bank in RM2,000,” she alleged.
Malini claimed that she had met with an accident in December and was on medical leave for two months as well as contracted Covid-19 after that. She was in quarantine for two weeks.
Meanwhile, Kumaresan urged the public not to borrow money from Ah Longs.
“Please do not go to the loan shark and get trapped if you have a financial problem. You can approach my service centre or other service centres in your respective constituencies.
“For instance, in Batu Uban service we have programmes such as food bank which is held once a week. We also give food baskets to the needy,” he said.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud