A Malaysian man who took up a low-interest loan offer from a moneylender allegedly had his house set on fire on two consecutive days by suspects believed to be from Singapore, who also threatened to kill his relatives.
Zheng Xingyan’s (transliteration) landed property was attacked with Molotov cocktails on May 8 and 9, with the blaze affecting three neighbouring homes as well.
The 48-year-old, who worked in Singapore, revealed in a press conference on May 10 that he came across a listing offering loan services with low-interest rates.
He intended to borrow S$50,000 to fund his children’s university education and house renovations, paying back S$1,000 every month over five years. To apply for the loan, Mr Zheng handed over his identity card and bank details.
However, the company reportedly demanded a daily payment of S$500 for five consecutive days as a “processing fee” before disbursing the loan, Malaysian Chinese news outlet China Press reported.
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“I began suspecting I was getting scammed, so I requested to cancel the loan,” Mr Zheng said.
The moneylender then asked the 48-year-old to pay S$1,500 as a cancellation fee, but transferred S$400 to his bank account on the same day and demanded “interest”.
To settle the issue amicably, Mr Zheng proposed to transfer S$600, but ended up receiving another sum from the loan company on the same day.
