A Malaysian man who fled overseas may have no choice but to return to our country as his application for a refugee and protected person status in New Zealand was rejected.
The man, fearing for his life fled to New Zealand with his family in April 2014 after being in a debt of approximately RM27 million with 14 loan sharks and “powerful people” who were investors in his company.
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As reported by Stuff, the man lived a lavish lifestyle while in Malaysia. In 2003, he started a money lending business which takes money from investors and lends it out at a high-interest rate.
However, when his business became rocky in 2008, the Malaysian decided to borrow money from loan sharks and other lenders.
Source: Forbes
He continued to do so until 2014 to fund his business and extravagant lifestyle, to the point of taking out new loans to pay off old ones.
In early 2014, after not keeping tabs on the debts that he’s been accruing, he realised that he owed RM27 million to a string of lenders and investors which was too much to repay.
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In March 2014, a number of investors in his lending company gave the man a deadline of the following Monday to pay back all their money which amounted to RM9 million.
Not having money and could not borrow any more, the man then fled to New Zealand with his family. His home and business premises were subsequently seized by creditors days after he left.
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A year later, the man discovered that he had a “blacklisted” status from the Malaysian Immigration Department. 4 years later, he tried to renew his passport but was unable to do so.
In 2020, the man applied for refugee and protected status in New Zealand, claiming that if he returned to Malaysia, he would be arrested on arrival and charged with criminal offences relating to the collapse of his money-lending business.
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He also claimed that he would not get a fair trial because of his investors’ influence and that his life would be under threat by the loan sharks that he owed money.
After hearing the application, the New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal found the man’s statements credible but did not find any evidence that his life was under threat.
Hence, his appeal was rejected and without a valid passport, the man has no choice but to return to Malaysia and face the music.
Also read: Loan Shark Meets His Match After Confronted For Requesting RM12K From Victim of RM1,500 Loan
