15yo M’sian Borrows RM13,000 from Ah Longs to Fulfill Girlfriend's Food Cravings

According to Kosmo, the teen who has since sought the help of an Islamic group called Darul Muttaqin (DM) had turned to Ah Longs to satisfy his girlfriend’s craving for “siakap tiga rasa” — or barramundi cooked in spicy, sweet and sour sauce.

“The teenager came across an advertisement on TikTok for an ‘ah long’ after his girlfriend craved the dish,” DM Fardu Ain and Quran Studies Centre manager Fariz Izhar Adrus reportedly said.

“Maybe he was too embarrassed (to borrow money from his parents), and eventually, he borrowed from ah long.”

The report said that the teenager from Selangor had owed money to 12 loan sharks before turning to DM for help. DM stated that the teenager’s parents have since been notified, and he has dropped out of school.

Meanwhile, the group claimed that it had helped out with 3,700 cases involving Malaysians aged between 15 and 60 who got into trouble with loan sharks.

According to the reports, DM also received cases involving some women, including being forced to agree to surrender their newborns upon birth as a condition to pay interest or settle debts owed to illegal moneylenders.

The reports said many women in these cases took loans under the pretext of assisting their husbands with the family's monthly commitments, such as paying bills, settling business-related debts, and buying groceries.

"Some were willing to compromise their dignity to waive interest charges of RM200 due to the shame of confessing to their husbands or families about their debts, negotiating secretly with loan sharks instead,” said DM general manager Datuk Mohd Zaki Zainol.

"There were also some who agreed to surrender their unborn babies to the loan sharks. Once the hospital procedures are completed, the baby is handed over, and the couple has no idea where the child ends up," he shared.