M'sia man, 32, owed loan sharks over S$62,700, takes own life, they immediately start harassing family

A 32-year-old accountant from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reportedly took his own life and died on the spot after he fell from his apartment on the 24th floor to the ninth-floor platform.

China Press reported that the incident occurred on the evening of Aug. 7.

The man, Lin Zucheng (transliterated), reportedly took a half-day off on Aug. 7 to return to the apartment where he lived with his girlfriend.

Prior to this, he was suspected of falling for an online scam, and allegedly owed loan sharks over RM200,000 (about S$62,700).

Alleged online gambling

Lin was allegedly addicted to different online trading platforms, China Press reported.

He was said to have downloaded and used over 30 different trading platform applications on his mobile phone.

China Press understands that many of the applications on his phone were supposedly related to online gambling and financial transactions.

It added that he could have fallen into an online fraud trap and had been forced to borrow money from loan sharks to repay his debts.

His girlfriend, Liang, pointed out that she had been dating Lin for 11 years, adding that he worked at an accounting firm and did part-time IT services.

She admitted that he had borrowed money from her over the past few years, amounting to RM40,000 (S$12,551), and had also borrowed RM10,000 (about S$3,137) from her mother.

He previously claimed to have needed cash flow as he was doing online sales.

Recognised boyfriend's clothes

Liang said she saw her boyfriend's car parked at the apartment when she returned home on the evening of Aug. 7.

She was surprised as he usually returned home late, China Press reported.

Liang thought he had been at work, but said he would not answer personal or work calls.

At the time, news suddenly spread in a residents' group that a fatal fall had occurred in the apartment.

She rushed downstairs after recognising her boyfriend's clothes and notified his family of the news.

Harassed family, police report

China Press reported that his body was sent to the morgue at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.

Later at the hospital, Liang reportedly received a call from a loan shark demanding a RM30,000 (S$9,413) debt that Lin owed.

He allegedly demanded that she pay RM10,000 (S$ 3,137) of the debt that day, and another of the same amount the next day, until the debt was fully repaid with interest.

She then continued getting debt collection messages from loan sharks over the next few days, after which she decided to file a police report on Aug. 10.

The officer taking her statement told her to contact the loan sharks immediately.

"The other party knew I had called the police, and spoke very politely, saying that they just wanted to get the money back," she said.

China Press reported Liang also sought help from the assistant of a Malaysian Member of Parliament and head of a complaints bureau in the hopes that loan sharks would stop harassing her.

The deceased's mother, Cai Lirong (transliterated), said that she could not repay her son's debts and begged the loan sharks to stop harassing her family.

Lin's funeral procession will take place on Sunday morning (Aug. 16) for cremation.

Helplines

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

National mindline.sg Hotline: 1771 (24 hours)

National mindline.sg WhatsApp: 66691771 (24 hours)

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019