Print

Mail

wiki links

Police nab loan shark who beat, imprisoned couple

Kaohsiung City police yesterday busted a loan shark company that had imprisoned and tortured three defaulting customers over a nine month period.

Police told how a couple surnamed Cho (卓) borrowed NT$1.8 million (US$54,000) from the owner of the loan company, surnamed Chang (張), but were unable to make the repayments.

The couple then fled from their creditor but they were tracked down by Chang and his colleagues, who then imprisoned them in a small cottage located in Kaohsiung's Fengshan City (鳳山).

Another victim surnamed Ou (歐) who owed Chang NT$1 million was also imprisoned for the same reason, the police said.

The two male victims were chained and forced to sit in just their underpants while Cho's wife was jailed in the attic of the cottage.

In addition to regular beatings, Chang provided them with just two meals a day and only allowed them to take a shower once a week.

The conditions were appalling, the police said.

Cho attempted to commit suicide and was sent to the hospital for 10 days by Chang before being taken back to the cottage for a further period of imprisonment.

In April, Chang gave Cho's wife a cellphone and asked her to contact her family to arrange for their debts to be paid off.

Cho's wife took the opportunity to send text messages to Cho's brother, asking for help, the police said.

Cho's family then reported the matter to the police, who eventually discovered the whereabouts of the house, leading to the rescue of the three victims yesterday.

Cho and his wife each lost nearly 20kg during their 270-day imprisonment and their children could not recognize them upon their return, the police said.

The police said they were now hunting for Chang's accomplices.
This story has been viewed 1650 times.