A family in Johor Bahru, who felt that the local authorities were not helping them much with deterring a Singapore loanshark from harassing them, decided to take matters into their own hands.
After a two-night ambush, they caught two runners splashing paint at their house but only managed to smash their escape vehicle's windscreen and windows.
The runners had immediately turned tail and drove off when they saw the family of four furiously chasing after them.
"Let's play!": Loanshark
A fish vendor in Singapore, 35-year-old Seah (transliteration), told Shin Min Daily News that his 61-year-old mother in Malaysia received a call from an "Ah Lim" in July 2023, claiming that Seah owes him S$1,000 since 2021.
"Ah Lim", who also claimed to be from Singapore, threatened Seah's mother to pay S$13,000 or he would burn down her house in Johor Bahru.
The loanshark apparently told her in Mandarin, "If you want to play, let's play!"
Took turns to stay up to wait for the loanshark runners
Seah's family went to their local member of parliament for help, who helped them address the situation at a press conference.
However, Seah said the harassment didn't stop after the Malaysian local press reported their plight.
Determined to do something, they took turns staying up late to catch the loanshark runners.
Runners ran away
On Aug. 2, 2023, two loanshark runners finally showed up at their front door after the family waited for two consecutive nights.
Through their CCTV camera, they spotted the suspicious men alighting from a car at around 6:45am.
Image via Shin Min Daily News
Once they splashed red paint on the house's walls, Seah's parents, elder brother and nephew rushed out.
Image via Shin Min Daily News
Upon seeing the family charging out of the house's auto-gate, the two runners ran back to their car and tried to flee the scene.
Before their car could accelerate away, Seah's elder brother caught up to smash its windscreen and windows.
Family found abandoned vehicle
The family went to the police station to lodge a police report subsequently.
On the way home from the station, they stopped nearby some shops and chatted with a shopkeeper who told them they found a car with smashed windows.
They went to check on the car and found out it was the same car the loanshark runners had used.
Image via Shin Min Daily News
The runners apparently decided to abandon the car and flee on foot.
The family found a bottle of red paint, and "O$P$" notes with their address in the car.
Image via Shin Min Daily News
Man denies borrowing money from loanshark
Seah's family worries that the loanshark might do more to them as he claimed what had happened was only the "appetiser".
However, Seah clarified that he never borrowed money from the loanshark and had no idea how they got hold of the particulars of his family members.
Top image via Shin Min Daily News