A man who had no dealings with loan sharks still became a victim of their alleged actions. Three terrace houses and nine vehicles were destroyed in a fire in Penang, believed to have been deliberately set by a loan shark. The blaze, which began around 4:50 am on Tuesday (June 24), gutted five cars and four motorcycles along with the houses, according to Bernama. Seberang Prai Utara district police chief Anuar Abdul Rahman confirmed a victim had filed a report suspecting the fire was started intentionally by loan sharks. A threatening note directed at a debtor was reportedly found at one of the affected homes a week earlier.

In a widely shared Facebook post on Wednesday, a user named Mohamad Asrul identified himself as one of the victims. He said that on June 16, he and his neighbor found petrol and paint outside their homes, along with a bottle containing leftover petrol and a letter at the neighbor’s gate. The letter was addressed to another resident in the neighborhood and included their name and ID number, along with a threat to set the house on fire. Asrul said a police report was filed the same day.

A week later, his neighbor’s home was set ablaze, and the fire spread, destroying surrounding houses as well. Asrul emphasized that neither he nor his neighbors had borrowed from loan sharks but still ended up suffering from the attack. Police chief Anuar said the case is being treated as criminal intimidation and is under active investigation, according to the New Straits Times.