S'pore man's mum in JB harassed by loan sharks, family harass them back by smashing car

The New Paper
Aug 8, 2023

Fed up with harassment from loan sharks, a family in Johor decided to take matters into their own hands and laid an ambush at their house for two nights.

On the second night, they caught two runners splashing paint on their house walls, and chased after them on foot, smashing the loan sharks’ vehicle windscreen and windows in the process.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, a fish vendor in Singapore, surnamed Seah, 35, said his 61-year-old mother in Malaysia received a call from an "Ah Lim" in July, claiming that Seah has owed him S$1,000 since 2021.

Ah Lim, who claimed to be from Singapore, threatened Seah's mother to pay $13,000 or he would burn down her house in Johor Bahru.

The loan shark apparently told her in Mandarin, "If you want to play, let's play!"

Seah's family went to their local member of parliament for help, who helped them address the situation at a press conference. But even after the Malaysian press reported on their plight, the harassment didn't stop, Seah said.

Determined to do something, they took turns staying up late to catch the loan shark runners.

On Aug 2, two runners finally showed up at their front door.

Through the CCTV camera, the family spotted the men alighting from a car at around 6:45am.

Once they splashed red paint on the house's walls, Seah's parents, elder brother and nephew rushed out.

When they saw the family charge out of the house in a rage, the runners ran back to their car and drove off. Before they could accelerate away, Seah's elder brother managed to smash the car’s windscreen and windows.

The family then lodged a police report.

Seah said his family is worried the loan sharks might return to do more harm. He added that he never borrowed money from the loan sharks and has no idea how they obtained his family’s contact details.