ESCALATING violence, explicit threats of sexual mutilation and the apparent misuse of personal data by illegal moneylenders have pushed several Malaysian families to the brink, forcing them to publicly disown close relatives in an attempt to shield themselves from relentless harassment.
The cases, revealed by the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department, point to a growing pattern in which loan sharks extend their intimidation beyond borrowers to parents, siblings and other family members, leaving victims feeling trapped and exposed.
One of the most disturbing cases involved a 60-year-old housewife who identified herself only as Heng. Her ordeal began after her daughter and son-in-law went into hiding last month over unpaid debts.
“The loan sharks are vile. They threatened to sever the private parts of my daughter and her husband,” The Star reported her saying.
Heng said the threats quickly turned graphic when she began receiving disturbing images directly from the moneylenders.
“A loan shark also sent me gory photos of people with severed genitals, claiming he had carried out the acts himself. It was so upsetting that I told them to go ahead and do as they wished as I have disowned my daughter,” she said.
She later discovered that her 36-year-old daughter and son-in-law had borrowed about RM20,000 from 20 different loan sharks since 2024, triggering a barrage of calls and threats directed at her.
Angered and emotionally exhausted, Heng said she had reached a point where she could no longer take responsibility for her daughter’s actions.
“I don’t care how she’s raising the money but I expect her to settle the debts,” she said at a press conference organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.
At the same press conference, another family shared a similar decision born of desperation. Chia, a 54-year-old part-time accountant, said her family had chosen to disown her younger brother after he fled in June last year, leaving them to face loan sharks on his behalf.
She said her 34-year-old brother was a compulsive online gambler who had accumulated debts exceeding RM30,000.
The family initially stepped in to clear the loans, hoping he would change his behaviour.
“But my brother did not change his ways. He is back in debt with loan sharks. As such, my family wishes to disown him and not take any responsibility for his debts,” she said.
Chia added that the pressure intensified earlier this month when loan sharks began calling her directly, demonstrating detailed knowledge of her personal circumstances.
“They asked me if I wanted my car or house burned down,” she said.
Chong said the intimidation extended beyond threats, noting that Chia’s house was splashed with red and green paint on two occasions, once in July and again last month.
“The intimidation by the loan sharks has been so harrowing that these two families were pushed to take the painful decision of disowning their own family members,” he said.
Both Heng and Chia have lodged police reports, with the cases being investigated by the Kajang and Sentul police respectively.
In a separate case highlighting the increasingly sophisticated tactics of illegal moneylenders, a 46-year-old e-hailing driver, identified only as Goh, said she was left traumatised by how loan sharks appeared to have detailed access to her personal and financial information after she borrowed money to satisfy the demands of an online boyfriend.
“They sent me screenshots of my earnings from the company,” The Star reported Goh saying.
“Then they also sent me photos and details of my immediate family members,” she added.
Goh, who lodged a police report in South Klang, said the harassment left her in a constant state of fear.
“They seem to know everything including my movements and details of my family members.
“They even called and warned me just moments after I stepped out of the police station,” she said.
She said the intimidation escalated further when she was sent proof that she was being followed.
“Then they sent me a close-up photo of me driving my car. I don’t even know when it was taken.
“How did they manage to get such information?” she said at a press conference organised by Chong yesterday.
Goh said her nightmare began late last year when she befriended a man online and borrowed RM3,000 from loan sharks to meet his requests for cash.
“The sum has swelled to RM6,200 with more interest and ‘fines’ added to it,” she said.
She added that the threats soon extended to her family.
“The loan sharks are also going after my mother and threw several severed chicken heads into the compound of her home as a warning,” she said.
Fearing for the safety of her 21-year-old daughter and other relatives, Goh said the emotional toll had been overwhelming.
She revealed that this was not her first encounter with such tactics. In July 2024, she fell victim to a similar online romance scam after meeting another man on Facebook, borrowing more than RM12,000 from loan sharks and losing RM30,000 of her personal savings to the supposed lover.
With the assistance of Chong’s department, she eventually managed to settle her debts in that earlier case.
Underscoring the scale of the issue, Chong said his department handled 422 cases involving loan sharks last year, with total sums amounting to RM44 million.
“Almost 88% of these cases involve the Chinese community, followed by Malays at 12% and the rest being Indians. In the first two weeks this year, we have had 11 cases involving RM1.1mil come to us,” he said.
Despite repeated public warnings about the dangers of borrowing from illegal moneylenders, Chong said many continue to take the risk, often with devastating consequences not only for themselves, but for entire families drawn into the cycle of fear and intimidation. - January 16, 2026
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