KUCHING: A single mother of two is living in fear after a loan shark threatened to burn her house, kidnap her children and “sell her to Cambodia” over a RM500 debt allegedly owed by her ex-husband.
SUPP Public Complaints Bureau chief Milton Foo said the victim, known as Mdm Chong, 26, has been raising her children alone since her ex-husband left around seven years ago.
Her ordeal began on Dec 6, when she received WhatsApp messages from an unknown number on both her phones at 11.24 am.
“A man forwarded a photo of her ex-husband holding his IC and claimed he owed RM500. He demanded she pay up, threatening she would be made responsible if she refused.
“Chong later explained that she and her ex-husband had been separated for nearly seven years and urged the person to find the ex-husband’s current partner instead,” he said at a press conference today (Dec 8).
Instead of backing off, the threats escalated.
Foo said the caller, believed to be from West Malaysia based on his accent, began repeatedly calling Chong on WhatsApp, warning that it would be easy to kidnap her and her children as their home was “only three hours away”.
“He claimed to have photos of her family and knew where she lived. He also admitted he was an ‘Ah Long’ and a gangster.
“The loan shark warned her to be careful, and threatened to catch her and sell her to Cambodia to be a prostitute, as well as that his people could splash paint at her house,” he said.
Chong managed to record two of the calls as intimidation grew. At 1.40 pm that same day, the man sent her a video showing an arson attack and warned that someone would be stationed outside her house for 24 hours.
Fearing for her safety and her children’s, she lodged a police report at Batu Kawa police station that afternoon, adding that she only wants to live peacefully and hopes the harassment stops.
In light of this, Foo said Chong’s case reflects a worsening trend of intimidation by loan-shark syndicates, which often involve threats of paint splashing, arson and kidnapping — even towards people who never borrowed money.
“In this case, the victim is completely innocent. She did not take any loan. Her ex-husband listed her numbers as emergency contacts, which is why the ‘Ah Long’ targeted her,” he said.
Foo reminded the public not to be easily intimidated, noting that many such threats can come from scammers who have never met their targets.
He urged victims to lodge police reports immediately and seek assistance from the bureau, stressing that genuine debt recovery should be pursued through legal channels.
