'Next time it's fire': Man in Singapore gets Johor home splashed with paint by loan sharks after making enquiry online

Owe money, pay money — that's how the expression goes when it comes to loan sharks.

But what if you've never owed them money to begin with?

A Malaysian man working in Singapore has been hounded by loan sharks who splashed paint on his home in Johor — despite him claiming that he never took a loan, China Press reported on Monday (Jan 29).

The 21-year-old kitchen assistant in Singapore said he had clicked on a Facebook advertisement for loans on Jan 6 in hopes of financing a home.

He enquired about the maximum loan limit, sharing his personal information including his work permit, Malaysian identity card and bank account details with the loan company.

"I thought it was a legitimate loan company," the man, surnamed Tang, told Malaysian media outlets on Monday. 

"They unexpectedly revealed that they are an illegal loan company run by loan sharks. I was taken aback and immediately refused the loan, deleting my personal information.

"But they kept calling me to ask if I wanted money to be sent over. I emphasised that I just wanted to know details about the loan, not borrow money."

He also shared with media that he has bank records to prove that he didn't borrow any money.

As the loan sharks persisted in their attempts to strongarm him into taking a loan, Tang made a police report in Singapore and froze his bank account.

At 3am on Sunday (Jan 28), however, loan shark runners appeared outside his home in Segamat, Johor, splashing paint over the front gate and on the vehicle parked in the garage.

Loan sharks then tried extorting $5,000 from Tang, Sin Chew reported on Monday.

"They said to me, 'This time it's paint, next time it's fire'," he reiterated.

Mother received a video of a house being set on fire 'as a warning'

It wasn't just Tang or his home in Malaysia that were affected by this incident — his mother also received messages from loan sharks, saying that he owed them money.

Tang's mother, surnamed Li, 44, told China Press that she was preparing to take her children to school at 6.30am when she saw the splashed paint at the front of her home.

There was also a note pasted on a wall outside her home claiming that her son in Singapore owed money to loan sharks, she said.

Security camera footage recorded of the incident showed two men splashing paint on her front gate and car.

Following the discovery, Lin received a phone call warning her that this was just the "appetiser", and that the "main course has yet to be served".

Speaking to media, Li recalled receiving a phone call from a stranger on the afternoon of Jan 7. He revealed that he was a loan shark and sent across Tang's identity card details and other information, Sin Chew reported.

"He also sent a short video of a house being set on fire as a warning," she shared.

Li made a police report on Jan 8.

According to China Press, Li lamented that she is an innocent party as her son didn't receive any money.

Li added that she intends to wash her hands of the matter, leaving her son to resolve the issue on his own. She also expressed hope that loan sharks would stop harassing the family.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com