Photo shows the police crest.
KUCHING (Oct 27): Police recently arrested a loan shark in Siburan after he allegedly demanded a repayment of RM290,000 from a man for a loan of RM8,000.
In a statement today, Padawan police chief Supt Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said the suspect allegedly charged a 20 per cent interest rate and the borrower was told to make full payments within three weeks of the loan being approved in 2019.
“The victim, prior to his police report, had allegedly paid a total of RM100,000 to the suspect known as ‘Ah Wie’ by depositing payments between RM7,950 and RM8,750 on a monthly basis,” said Abang Zainal.
He added the victim was told to deposit the payments into a bank account provided by the suspect.
However, the suspect claimed the victim was late on his loan repayments and hence demanded RM290,000.
Besides the 20 per cent interest rate, the victim was also told to pay RM265 a day for late monthly payments.
“We are currently investigating this case under Section 5(2) of the Moneylenders Act 1951 for carrying out a moneylender business without a valid licence,” said Abang Zainal.
He advised the public not to resort to borrowing money from unlicensed individuals and to only apply for loans from financial institutions, co-operatives, or licensed moneylenders.