GEORGE TOWN: Police arrested two men and two women suspected of setting three cars on fire and spray-painting the vehicles in cases linked to loan sharks or “Ah Longs”.
The two men were apparently debtors to a loan shark from Singapore and were forced to harass other borrowers after failing to repay their own debts of RM1,000 to RM2,000.
Penang police chief Shuhaily Zain said the four suspects, aged between 22 and 33, were arrested in several locations in Ipoh, Perak.
“We received a report from a 40-year-old woman who said her son’s Perodua Kelisa was burnt and spray-painted in an incident at 4.30am on April 30 in Bukit Tengah near here.
“Police later received two more reports of similar incidents, in Bukit Minyak and Air Itam, involving a Perodua Alza and Myvi on the same day between 4.30am and 7am,” he told a press conference here today.
Shuhaily said a closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) showed the suspects in a red Toyota Yaris and police later managed to locate a couple asleep in the car on Jalan Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh on May 4.
A search of their car uncovered a lighter, pen, house keys and receipts for petrol. Based on information they provided, police arrested a man in Ulu Kinta the same day and a 33-year-old woman in Kampung Simee, Ipoh, on May 6.
Investigations found that the two men had failed to settle their debts with the Ah Long.
“They were then promised a reduction in outstanding debts if they splashed paint and set ablaze cars belonging to other borrowers. They were even paid RM700 through an e-wallet transaction.”
He said investigations found that the woman who made the first report also owed money to the loan shark and worked in Singapore, while the other two victims also owed the same person RM1,000 to RM2,000.
He said the suspects had been remanded for between four and seven days for investigation. - FMT
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