Loan sharks burn store in M’sia after businessman’s son clicked on Facebook ad while in S’pore

Loan sharks burn store after businessman’s son clicked on Facebook ad

Loan sharks allegedly burned down a businessman’s store in Malacca after his son, who is in Singapore, clicked on a loan ad on Facebook.

The businessman, Xu Rongqing (transliterated from Chinese), received a message from an unknown Singapore number on 2 Aug, Sin Chew Daily reported.

The message said that his son had borrowed S$700 from two loan sharks and threatened to burn down his store if the money was not repaid.

Son clicked on loan ad, but denied borrowing money

Following this, Mr Xu spoke to his son who said he did not borrow money but admitted to clicking on a loan ad on Facebook.

He said someone then messaged him saying they had deposited money to his account by mistake and asked him to send it back. However, he ignored the message and blocked the sender.

Mr Xu’s son told his father that it was a scam and advised him to call the police, but Mr Xu simply brushed it off.

At about 1.50am on 5 Aug, Mr Xu heard a loud noise from his store. When he and his wife opened the window to check it out, the front of the store was already on fire.

Businessman asked to pay for his peace

According to Mr Xu, he, his wife, and his 91-year-old father usually live in the shop, so when a man claiming to be the “arsonist” called and asked for S$5,000 in return for peace, he transferred RM9,500 (S$2,831).

A few days later, another person claiming to be from a second group of loan sharks asked for S$2,500, saying they would “throw acid” if Mr Xu did not pay.

At this point, Mr Xu’s son reported the case to the police in Singapore.

Realizing that the scam was never-ending, Mr Xu also contacted local police and sought help from Malacca MP Khoo Poay Tiong.

Malacca MP calls for authorities to investigate the issue

According to Mr Khoo, Mr Xu’s case has escalated from a fraud to a criminal case.

He urged local police to collaborate closely with Singaporean authorities to combat transnational crime.

As the loan sharks have already engaged in criminal activities, MP Khoo called for the urgent establishment of a “cross-departmental action committee” to deal with the issue.

Additionally, he pointed out that the loan sharks had the identity card numbers and photos of the victim’s entire family, so the data leak must be investigated.

MP Khoo also urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to investigate the online loan advertisements and called on Bank Negara Malaysia to track down the culprits behind the online remittances.

Meanwhile, he said he would raise the issue in Parliament and ask the government to enact or amend laws to deal with such criminal groups.

Also read: ‘Wheelchair-bound’ hawker caught standing after finishing work in M’sia, customer feels scammed

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Featured image adapted from Sin Chew Daily