SHAH ALAM – Nine individuals, including a married couple, were arrested by police for their alleged involvement with a syndicate paid by “alongs” (loan sharks) to threaten borrowers who defaulted on their repayments.
Shah Alam district police chief Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said the arrest of the seven men and two women, all locals between the ages of 21 and 41, was carried out over two days since last Monday in Selangor and the federal capital.
“They are suspected of being involved with unlicensed moneylenders to threaten loan defaulters by committing mischief, such pasting notices, locking houses and splashing paint on houses of borrowers in Shah Alam, as well as in several other areas,” he said at a press conference here today.
He said the syndicate was found to have started operations last month when one of the suspects was offered the job when he went to the along to borrow money.
The suspect was offered between RM300 and RM450 for the job (to threaten loan defaulters), depending on the distance and action taken, he said, adding that the 41-year-old male suspect then invited his friends to join him.
According to Iqbal, it was found that as many as 80 payment transactions were made to the suspect’s account by an along.
“We are tracking the alongs involved, and it is believed that the syndicate is dealing with more than one along with most of the payments being made by cash deposit,” he added.
Iqbal said a preliminary investigation found that all of them were unemployed, and seven had previous records.
He added that all the suspects are in remand until March 31 for investigation under Section 5 (2) of the Moneylenders Act and Section 427 of the Penal Code. – Bernama, March 29, 2023
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