When the family of a 27-year-old man from the state of Kedah, Malaysia, raised RM100,000 (about US$25,000) to pay off the debts he had accumulated due to his gambling addiction, they believed they could finally leave that nightmare behind. However, he still felt guilty about his parents’ sacrifice.
As he recounted during a press conference organized by the Kedah Consumers Association (CAKE), he decided to borrow money from two networks of illegal lenders, known in Malaysia as “ah longs”, intending to gradually repay the money his family had spent to help him.
He first obtained a loan of RM2,700 (about US$680) and then another of RM2,800 (around US$705). What seemed like a temporary solution ended up becoming a new…