Loan sharks take out anger on family

KUALA LUMPUR: Two different families bore the brunt of angry Ah Long (loan sharks) who threw Molotov cocktails into their properties. Ong Hwa Cheong, 44, and his mother Low, 69, were shocked to find the front porch of their house in Taman Sentosa, Klang, on fire at 2am on May 20. Ong claimed that it was the work of groups of Ah Long searching for his brother-in-law and his wife who fled last February after failing to pay their debts. “The two never stayed here but my brother-in-law gave my address to the Ah Long as a collateral, and now we have to face the threats and harassment,” said Ong, who is a facility engineer. He added that he had no idea how many groups of Ah Long were involved and how much his brother-in-law had borrowed. While relating his ordeal at a press conference at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department yesterday, Ong said: “A group of Ah Long came to my house on Feb 16 and asked for my brother-in-law. “When I told them that he never lived in my house, they got angry and started smashing my car,” he said, adding that they also splashed red paint all over his car on March 1. In the wee hours of May 20, the son of Ong's neighbour called him after hearing a loud explosion followed by fire spreading fast in front of the house. “Luckily, he (neighbour's son) informed us early, or else we could have died in the fire,” said Ong, adding that they managed to put out the fire and discovered fragments of the hand-made bomb. Both Ong and his mother are hoping that the harassment will stop as they are innocent victims. In another case, a bak kut teh restaurant owner, K.S. Chai, claimed that the two joint shoplots he owned in Klang were badly burnt by Molotov cocktails on May 20 at 12.30am by one of the 13 Ah Long he had borrowed from. He lodged a police report the next day, and the case is under investigation. Source: The Star