Less than 2 years ago, the most unfortunate thing happened to my HDB unit.
As per the usual morning routine, my husband opened our main door to pick up the newspaper only to find our home vandalized by the loan sharks!
It was a horrifying sight for me. With green paint splashed all over our corridor, gate and door. We were also locked in our own home, with a bicycle chain locked around our gate.
Now, you may be thinking we have been borrowing money from these illegal lenders since they did this to our home. But this is so not the case! Apparently, this is the loansharks new tactic to involve neighbors so that the borrower will feel more pressure to pay up. Heck, the O$P$ on the wall was not even my family's surname, nor our unit which was neatly written on the wall near the lift landing!
And personally for me, the most offensive moment was when the police arrived, one of them asked me, "so m'am, how long have you been borrowing money from the loansharks?" I was flabbergasted. I retorted back, "surely you can see from the writing on the wall that its not even my unit number?" And he went, "oh yah". tsk tsk tsk.
Anyway, I lived in fear for the next few days. I cannot imagine if the runners decide to come back to my unit again that further endanger our lives. I diligently scrubbed off the dried up paint on the corridor, door and repainted our gate. It was the most unnecessary chore to do that took me 2 whole days. I was not at all happy to be cleaning up other peoples' mess.
I hope that these illegal lending business will come to an end and not get other innocent parties involved. I also hope that people who are hard up for money will not resort to borrowing from loansharks despite knowing the kind of trouble they will be getting into. When there is a will, there will always be a way - a proper way.
The people who borrow from these loan sharks cannot go to the proper channels because they don't meet the income requirement, and thus deemed a bad debt risk. Chances are, their application would be rejected even before it reaches the loan officers' desk.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad, really... because apart from gamblers and do-gooders who spend beyond their means and therefore have to beg, borrow or in worse case scenarios, steal in order to live, there are genuine cases whereby money is needed for medical assistance or infant requirements, etc. This doesn't mean that they should escalate their burdens by borrowing from loan sharks, of course... but it happens.
You must have been horrified and terrified!
Plus so mortified at what the policeman said without even noticing details!
Hi Regina... yeah I agree that some people seek them because they feel they are at the end of the road. But I also believe there are other means of approaching for help.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes! mortified is the word! hahaha