KUALA LUMPUR: Love proved to be a reckless game for a 15-year-old teenager who borrowed money from an Ah Long (illegal money lender) just to satisfy his girlfriend's craving for ikan siakap tiga rasa (barramundi cooked in a sweet, sour, and spicy sauce), reports said.
In a report published by Malay daily Kosmo, this was among the cases reported to Operasi Darul Muttaqim (DM), which was formed in 2022 to assist people aged 15 and above who are in trouble due to loan sharks and unlicensed money lending scams.
DM Fardu Ain and Al-Quran Studies Centre manager Fariz Izhar Adrus said further investigations revealed that the teenager from Selangor owed money to 12 loan sharks.
The teenager has since dropped out of school, leaving behind a total of RM13,000 in debts to illegal money lenders.
"The teenager came across an advertisement on TikTok for an Ah Long after his girlfriend craved ikan siakap," Fariz was quoted as saying in the report.
"Maybe he was too embarrassed (to borrow money from his parents), and eventually, he borrowed from Ah Long.
"The teenager's parents are civil servants. However, he is currently staying with his uncle, as he no longer wishes to attend school," he said.
The teenager eventually sought help from DM, who in turn, alerted his parents to the matter.
"The teenager was among over 3,700 cases involving individuals aged 15 to 60 who were in trouble with Ah Longs and debts that we have helped to resolve over the past three years," Fariz added.
According to the reports, DM also received cases involving some womenwho found themselves trapped in a bind, including being forced to agree to surrender their newborns upon birth as a condition to pay interest or settle debts owed to illegal moneylenders.
The reports said many women in these cases took loans under the pretext of assisting their husbands with the family's monthly commitments, such as paying bills, settling business-related debts, and buying groceries.
DM general manager Datuk Mohd Zaki Zainol said there were also cases of those who lend money from loan sharks just to kutu (saving scheme scam), drugs and gamblings.
"Some were willing to compromise their dignity to waive interest charges of RM200 due to the shame of confessing to their husbands or families about their debts, negotiating secretly with loan sharks instead.
"They were also some who agreed to surrender their unborn babies to the loan sharks.
"Once the hospital procedures are completed, the baby is handed over, and the couple has no idea where the child ends up," Mohd Zaki said.
He added that 50 cases of individuals getting into trouble after borrowing money from loan sharks were reported to DM daily. Of these, 40 involved women.