Woman Unable to Repay Debt Commits Suicide by Burning Charcoal; Boyfriend Receives Debt Collection Messages

A 24-year-old self-employed woman allegedly borrowed money for business turnover and was unable to repay the debt. She intentionally sent her 29-year-old cohabiting boyfriend away and later committed suicide by burning charcoal in the house. However, after her funeral, the boyfriend received messages from suspected loan sharks, leaving him devastated over his girlfriend's loss while suffering from being forcibly chased for debt.

The deceased woman, surnamed Guo, from Johor, was found dead in a rented apartment in Cheras, Selangor. She allegedly died from inhaling excessive carbon monoxide around 10 a.m. last month on the 31st, discovered by her 29-year-old Luo, a cohabiting boyfriend of two years.

This man, working in customer service, held a press conference on Thursday with Dato' Sri Michael Chong, head of the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department, and lawyer Chen Kai-rong, head of the MCA Selangor Complaints Bureau, hoping loan sharks would not harass him.

He said a day before the incident, his girlfriend mentioned wanting to have a barbecue with her cousin and purchased charcoal. She asked him to leave for a night so she and her cousin could gather.

According to the complainant, the following morning, he couldn't reach his girlfriend by phone, so he hurried back to the apartment only to find her already deceased on the ground, with the smell of burnt charcoal in the air.

He contacted the police and medical personnel, who declared his girlfriend dead at 11:58 a.m. that day, estimating the time of death to have been four to five hours earlier.

During his girlfriend’s funeral, he also found through her phone that she had borrowed RM70,000 from eight different loan sharks; the process was fully documented in conversation records, but without any threats.

He added that a few days after his girlfriend's death, he and his family started receiving messages and phone calls from loan sharks demanding repayment.

"I believe the reason for my girlfriend’s suicide was the pressure from the loan sharks. She previously worked in mobile phone sales and probably borrowed money for business purposes."

"The other party is aware of her death but still demands us to repay the debt, threatening to expose the matter on social platforms. I am not sure if my girlfriend’s family has also received calls from loan sharks."

Two days prior to her suicide, the complainant's girlfriend had asked him if he would be sad if she passed away, suggesting she might have had suicidal thoughts.

The complainant said his girlfriend asked on the 29th of last month, whether he would be sad if she left this world.

At the time, he said he would be very sad but immediately comforted her.

He described his girlfriend as gentle while alive, and he never expected her to commit suicide.

The loan shark sends "job listings" messages, publicly recruiting runners to splash paint on the debtor's residences!

Chen Kai-rong revealed that the loan sharks randomly sent mobile messages recruiting young people to splash paint.

He said, according to the message, the price for working in the Klang Valley is RM350, while prices range between RM500 to RM700 in other areas.

He added that a phone number was also included in the message.