Three men to face charges for illegal money-lending activities
JOHOR BARU: Three local men will face multiple charges in the Johor Baru Magistrate's Court on Wednesday (May 28) for activities linked to an illegal money-lending syndicate.
They are accused of engaging in acts of criminal intimidation and vandalism against loan defaulters.
The suspects are aged 24 to 31 and were arrested on May 14 in various locations during a police operation by the Johor Baru North district police.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk M. Kumar said the trio were allegedly paid by the loan shark syndicate to harass victims who failed to repay loans.
He said that the three allegedly splashed paint and padlocked victims' homes as intimidation.
"Our team seized several items linked to the crimes, including a motorcycle, mobile phones, cans of paint, face masks, stationery, and plastic packets containing dried leaves suspected to be drugs," he said.
Comm Kumar added that all three suspects tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and were remanded until Wednesday.
Police investigations revealed the group had been operating since April, receiving RM500 for every act of vandalism or threat.
"The syndicate lured victims, especially Malaysians working in Singapore, through social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, advertising quick and easy loans,' said Comm Kumar.
"Even before agreeing to loan terms, money would be transferred to victims' bank accounts, followed by threats to force repayments with interest rates between 20% and 50%," he added.
Comm Kumar said the arrests helped police solve eight cases with a similar modus operandi in Johor Baru and Batu Pahat.
Eight investigation papers have been submitted to the Johor Prosecution Office, and the three suspects face several charges.
They will face six charges under Section 427 of the Penal Code, one under Section 507, and one under Section 39A(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Comm Kumar assured the public that Johor police are committed to cracking down on illegal money-lending activities.
"We urge the public to avoid online loan advertisements and report any suspected unlicensed money-lending or criminal activity to the Johor police hotline at 019-2792095 or the operations room at 07-2212999," he said.
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