Loan firm hounds desperate man
Shin Min Daily News - 28 May 2012 4:25 PM | Updated 6:24 PM
A man living from hand to mouth has been driven to his wits end by his creditors.
The man, known only by his surname “Wu”, makes $1,200 a month as a lorry driver and has to take care of his wife and three daughters who are in primary school.
After paying $1,000 in rent, Mr Wu, who is in his 40s, is left with little every month for his family and his living expenses.
He found that he has no choice but to borrow from loan companies to tide him over.
But after borrowing from one moneylender, Mr Wu fell into a trap - he could only repay the debt by borrowing from another loan company.
“I ended up borrowing from several and had to pay a few hundred dollars each month. I couldn’t handle it anymore after the new year.”
Eventually, he asked the companies to put the loans on hold but one of the companies refused. It insisted that Mr Wu return at least $120 a month.
When he could not meet the repayments, the loan company sent several men to his home to demand money.
“They will kick my door loudly, scaring my daughters. I refused to open up so they stuck a notice to my door with superglue,” said Mr Wu.
The loan company also sent two men to his work place to look for his boss.
“They produced a document and claimed that I had authorised them to receive half my salary,” he said. “My boss refused to give them any money and they had no choice but to leave.”
Mr Wu maintains that he did not sign any such document and believes that it may have been forged.
The desperate man also collects empty drink cans in his spare time to make more money, but still cannot afford school textbooks for his children.
Poh Cheng Seng, the President of the Moneylenders Association of Singapore, said that when debtors do not repay their loans, moneylenders can take legal action and notify debtors accordingly.
“Moneylenders do not have the right to put up notices in their name, they cannot show up at debtors’ flats and kick their doors, they also cannot forge documents and ask for money at debtors’ workplaces,” he said.
Mr Wu has since sought help from the police.
Source: Shin Min Daily News, 27 May 2012.
