Couple sever ties with son who borrows from loan sharks 2 days after they clear his $10,000 debt

Enough is enough.

After helping to clear her son's $10,000 debt, a mother was horrified to learn that her son, surnamed Xiao, soon borrowed from five different groups of loansharks, who began harassing her and her husband as well as other relatives.

Both her and her husband have since declared their intention to sever ties with Xiao, indicating that they no longer have the ability to help him, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Speaking to reporters from the Chinese evening daily, Huang, 57, who was born in Malaysia, shared how Xiao is her son from a previous marriage, along with two other daughters. Her ex-husband died 22 years ago.

She later met and married her current husband, surnamed Su, 68, and moved to Singapore.

Huang indicated that Xiao was born and raised in Malaysia, but had previously worked illegally in New Zealand for several years. However, he became unemployed during the pandemic.

Xiao unexpectedly arrived in Singapore in June 2022, living alone while working at a recreation club as a server.

However, Huang found out that he had borrowed money from loan sharks in March this year, owing $11,000. Huang and her husband decided to cough up the sum to help Xiao.

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"We helped him pay off about $10,000 on April 17, but who knew that two days later he would go on to borrow $1,000 each from five other groups of moneylenders," said Huang.

The couple shared that they took over Xiao's bank account after paying his debt, indicating that he had to go through them for any expenses required. It was an arrangement he agreed to, said Huang.

However, Xiao then lied to the bank that he lost his ATM card and requested for a new card. Thereafter, he withdrew the remaining thousands of dollars in his account.

Huang shared that both she and Su have no source of income and are no longer able to help Xiao, who has since become uncontactable.

The last time that she was in touch with Xiao was on June 13, said Huang. She added that in the past, he would always contact her to borrow money, without ever paying her back.

"He has disappeared for several days now and deleted all his social media accounts. He's already 33 years old and still has so many issues," Huang chided.

Huang stated that Xiao had denied having a gambling addiction, but never once gave them a reason for borrowing money.

"Whenever we asked him he would keep quiet. When we asked if it is because of gambling, he said no," the couple shared.

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Sister, cousins and colleagues harassed

Not only have the couple been affected by Xiao's actions, Huang indicated that even his cousins in Malaysia and China, as well as his sister living in the UK have received threatening text messages from loan sharks.

Huang's son-in-law also claimed to have seen a post online with Xiao's face, indicating that he was a debtor.

Huang added that Xiao's colleagues have also been the receiving end of harassment by loan sharks. The manager of the restaurant he works at has also informed the couple that if her son continues to be uncontactable, his work permit will be revoked.

Huang described her son as a "frequent customer" of illegal moneylenders since the age of 18, sharing that he had borrowed from them at the time when he came to Singapore for work.

"He was renting a flat in Bedok with several others and the loan sharks went over and locked their gate. The other residents could not leave the flat and called me. That's when I found out he had borrowed from loan sharks," said Huang.

Su shared that he'd received incessant harassment calls from the loan sharks at the time and vaguely recalled helping Xiao pay off the debt of at least $1,200.

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candicecai@asiaone.com