According to a report from JOHOR BARU, a local couple is experiencing anxiety and restlessness after a loan shark allegedly set fire to their neighbor’s car due to their son’s debt.
A man named Lim Lau Long, aged 62, shared that his next-door neighbor in Taman Desa Cemerlang woke up in the early hours of Feb 2, around 4am, to use the bathroom and found his car engulfed in flames on the front porch.
The neighbor swiftly extinguished the fire and discovered a note on the ground with Lim’s home address and his son’s name inscribed on it.
Lim conveyed in a press conference organized by Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah’s office on Monday that his neighbor reached out to the telephone number on the note to inform the loan shark that they had targeted the wrong house. However, the illegal moneylender claimed that the harassment was intentional to exert pressure on Lim’s family.
Lim stated, “My wife and I feel powerless as we have been out of contact with our son Lim Vie Liang, aged 36, for over a decade and we are unaware of his current situation. The last we heard, he was employed in Singapore as a chicken rice seller.”
He further explained that they ceased communication with their son after discovering that he had borrowed money from loan sharks for gambling, and Lim had assisted in settling his debt of more than RM3,000.
“Since then, we have prevented him from returning home. We also want to clarify that we have severed ties with him, and the loan shark should approach him to repay the debt instead of targeting innocent individuals like us and our neighbors,” he added.
Lim’s wife Chan Siew Lin, aged 57, expressed their sympathy for their neighbor and offered to contribute to the repair of the vandalized vehicle.
The neighbor’s car that was set on fire by an illegal money lender.
“We have been close friends with our neighbor for more than 20 years but due to this incident, we ended up having a heated argument. Our other neighbors are also upset with us and concerned that they might be the next victims,” said the mother of two.
Chan, who works as a home-based tailor, mentioned that she and her husband have been taking shifts to stay awake at night to prevent any further unwanted incidents.
Meanwhile, Puah’s special officer Jalex Lee assured that he would aid the couple by following up with the police and requesting increased patrols in the area.
