Unable to shoulder the burden of a debt of over RM200,000 he owed to loan sharks, an accountant from Kepong decided to take his own life by falling from a height.
Not long after his demise, his family began receiving calls from loan sharks, who hounded them endlessly for the debt to be repaid.
Alleged suicide
According to China Press, the victim, Lin Zucheng (transliteration), took a half-day leave from work on Aug 7 and returned to the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Liang.
When evening came, Lin fell from the 24th floor and died at the scene.
Liang told the Chinese daily that she saw Lin’s car parked at the apartment when she returned home, which surprised her as he usually came home late.
She added that she assumed he was at work, but noted that he didn’t pick up any personal or work calls.
“I then received news in a residents’ group chat that someone had fallen to his death at the apartment.
“When I rushed downstairs, I recognised Lin’s clothing and immediately notified his family,” she said.
Online gambling addiction
A closer look at Lin’s phone later showed that it contained over 30 different trading platforms, many of which were related to online gambling and financial transactions.
Given this, it is believed that Lin may have fallen victim to an online scam and resorted to borrowing from loan sharks to repay his debts.
Liang, who had been dating Lin for 11 years, said her boyfriend worked at an accounting firm and did part-time IT services.
She also revealed Lin had borrowed RM40,000 from her over the past few years and RM10,000 from her mother, noting that he would often claim he needed cash flow as he was doing online sales.
No rest from loan sharks
When Lin’s body was sent to the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital morgue, Liang got a call from loan sharks who demanded payment for a RM30,000 debt Lin reportedly owed.
The loan shark also allegedly demanded that she pay RM10,000 on the day itself, and another of the same amount the following day, until the debt was fully repaid with interest.
After days of enduring harassing calls, Liang lodged a police report at the Sentul police station yesterday (Aug 10), where she was instructed by the officer taking her statement to contact the loan sharks on the spot.
The person knew that I had lodged a police report and spoke politely, adding that they simply wanted to recover the money owed,” she said.
Liang also sought the help of Lai Chun Chian, the aide to Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng in hopes of getting the loan sharks to stop tormenting the family.
Meanwhile, Lin’s mother begged for mercy from the loan sharks and pleaded with them to leave the family alone as she was unable to repay his debts.
Lin’s funeral will be held this Sunday (Aug 16).
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