PETALING JAYA: The MCA Public Services and Complaints Depart­ment has received over 40 cases within the first two weeks of this month from adults who got into hot water for football betting.

Some of them were not truthful on how they got themselves into trouble, said department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.

“They told me they took money from loan sharks for their business.

“When I probed further, eventually their family members told me that it is due to football betting,” he said.

Chong said some cases involved borrowers taking loans of up to RM100,000.

“One woman, who is over 70 years old, took money totalling RM90,000 from 25 ah long,” he said.

Based on his three decades of experience in dealing with such cases, Chong said he had learned that some people would still seek out such moneylenders despite all the public information about the risks.

“Some people came to me with broken bones. We kept telling them about the dangers but they continued to borrow from the loan sharks, causing their families to break up or they go into hiding.”

“Some people just don’t learn their lesson,” said Chong.

-The Star-