A 46-year-old e-hailing driver has lodged a police report after being harassed and intimidated by loan sharks over a debt linked to an online romance.
According to The Star, the woman, identified as Goh, borrowed RM3,000 late last year to help a man she believed was her boyfriend, whom she had met online. The man had demanded cash, but the loan quickly ballooned to RM6,200, excluding interest and penalties.
Goh said the loan sharks began stalking her and her family, somehow gaining access to private information. They sent her screenshots of her work earnings, along with photos and personal details of her and her relatives.
She added that the harassment escalated after she filed a police report, with the moneylenders calling her immediately after she stepped out of the police station to issue threats.
In a further act of intimidation, severed chicken heads were allegedly thrown into the compound of her mother’s house, leaving Goh fearing for the safety of her 21-year-old daughter.
This was not Goh’s first experience with debt linked to an online relationship. In July 2024, she reportedly borrowed RM12,000 for another online boyfriend. Although the debt was later settled with help from the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department, she still suffered losses of nearly RM30,000.
Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said his office handled 422 moneylending cases last year, involving losses totalling RM44 million.
