KUALA LUMPUR - A car accessory shop worker was shocked beyond words to find his RM1,000 (S$412) debt with a loan shark has ballooned by 85 folds in less than two months.

Chong Lik Shiang, 25, is now forced to pay back RM85,000 to the loan shark, failing which his photo and details would be uploaded to the Internet to make him "popular". He took the loan in September

The loan shark has also threatened Chong's mother, demanding that she help repay her son's debts.

Worried about the safety of his family, Chong, who lodged a report with Kajang police last Friday, sought help from MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong.

In a press conference yesterday, Chong said he had miscalculated and used up his money a week before his payday in September, forcing him to borrow RM1,000 from a loan shark for his daily expenses.

He said, however, that he could not settle the payment after running into some financial problems later, resulting in the loan shark topping up on the interests to his loan.

He also claimed that his debt had been "transferred" by the loan shark to a series of other lenders, and that the one going after him was the "eighth loan shark".

"The interest is so high that I cannot afford it. I have given them RM5,000 and now, I still owed RM80,000. This is ridiculous," he said.

Michael Chong said he had contacted Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar who had promised to conduct investigations.