What was supposed to be a dream home quickly turned into a year-long nightmare for a Sembawang resident, who unknowingly bought a flat previously linked to loan shark activity.
The 30-year-old woman, surnamed Wu, told Shin Min Daily News (SMDN) that she and her husband purchased the five-room HDB resale flat for $515,000 in May 2024.
But since moving in, she’s been receiving a constant stream of debt collection letters — every single week — for the previous owner.
And the letters didn’t stop. Not even when she was pregnant.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Ms Wu initially ignored the letters, thinking they were just leftover mail that would taper off with time.
But things escalated in October 2024 when a concerned neighbour knocked on her door, clutching one of the letters and warning her to be careful.
That was when the horrifying realisation dawned on her — the flat had apparently been associated with loan shark activity, commonly referred to locally as an “Ah Long house”.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
According to Ms Wu, the letters kept coming to the house, receiving them almost every week.
The letters reportedly contained harrowing images of burning houses and cars. Some even came with images of bloody hands and car accidents, which disconcerted the pregnant Ms Wu.
SMDN reports that Ms Wu once tried to anonymously contact the loan sharks in March this year to ask them to stop the harassment, but to no avail.
Fearing that the situation could escalate beyond letters — especially with a baby on the way — Ms Wu lodged a police report.
The police reportedly advised her to install surveillance cameras around her house. Additionally, they promised to patrol the area more frequently.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Ms Wu said that during the house viewing and transaction for the house, she had not noticed anything suspicious. She previously thought that the previous owner decided to sell the house following a divorce.
After she started receiving the loan shark letters, she reached out to the previous homeowner, but the owner reportedly did nothing but only apologised.
Despite this, Ms Wu said that she would not consider moving as she had spent a considerable amount of money on renovating the property.
She said, “This is my first home. I don’t want to give it up easily.”
However, she expressed concern regarding the resale value of the flat in the future.
While such cases are uncommon, property experts warn that homebuyers should always do their due diligence, especially for resale flats.
Buyers are encouraged to:
Ask the seller or agent about any past issues tied to the unit
Speak to neighbours about the flat’s history
Do an online search of the address to see if it’s been involved in any shady dealings
Ms Wu reminded home buyers to carefully check the property background to avoid buying an Ah Long house.
She also suggested that the authorities add a review procedure when approving transactions.
Also read: Loan shark delivers packages with dead rat & live spider to residential units in Yishun
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.