Woman saved from suicide attempt in bid to escape greedy loan shark
The woman from Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal, had recently attempted to kill herself twice before she was saved by Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) from jumping off a bridge on Monday.
'Rusa received several calls from friends and family of the victim. According to the family, the loan shark had lent her the cash and changed the interest rates from 50% to 400% when the debt was almost settled. The lender then threatened to send a group of men to repossess her car if the money was not paid,' said Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram.
He said the woman then borrowed smaller amounts and paid them over to the loan shark, but he made further demands.
'The mother of a minor daughter made calls to family earlier this week, informing them she intended to jump off a bridge, explaining that she had become overwhelmed in debt. She requested that family care for her child.'
Rusa said in recent weeks several people have been intimidated, assaulted and had their valuables forcefully taken from them after they failed to pay back exorbitant interest on borrowed money.
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