MELAKA: What began as a desperate attempt by dozens of private sector workers here to make ends meet turned into a nightmare when an illegal money lender allegedly seized control of their salaries, withholding their hard-earned wages since March last year.

Melaka Tengah OCPD Asst Comm Christopher Patit said police arrested two suspects on Saturday (June 28), believed to be behind the scheme that saw 62 employees forced to survive on piecemeal handouts after deductions for loans and interest.

"The two suspects, aged 56 and 26, admitted they were working for an agent and were paid RM2,500 monthly," he told The Star on Saturday (June 28).

ACP Christopher Patit said the 26-year-old suspect had two previous convictions for drug offences and was found to be operating an unlicensed money lending operation from premises at Taman Merdeka Permai in Batu Berendam.

"The licence they claimed to be operating under was registered to a gold and jewellery outlet at a different address in Taman Peringgit Jaya," he said.

He added that the police raid on the Taman Merdeka Permai premises was carried out following intelligence gathered by his team.

ACP Christopher Patit noted that among the items seized during the operation were 64 automated teller machine (ATM) cards, lease agreements, RM6,200 in cash, 13 mobile phones, and a list containing the names of borrowers.

"The victims are wage earners in private companies, aged between 30 and 50 years," he said.

ACP Christopher Patit said the suspects confessed to holding on to the victims’ ATM cards in order to collect loan repayments, only returning the remainder of the salaries once the amounts owed had been deducted.

He said the suspects are currently under remand as investigations continue under Section 5(2) of the Moneylenders Act 1951 and Section 424A of the Penal Code, which pertains to the fraudulent retention of proceeds from the disposal of property.

"We are also tracking down the main suspect who employed the two," he added.