Ah Long

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Ah Long are loan sharks in Malaysia and Singapore), they are money lenders who act as a 'folk bank'. Ah Long is illegal, they are not a bank but they lend their own money to people needing money, mostly targeting habitual gamblers who are in desperate need for quick money.

Ah Longs lend money to people that were unable to obtain loans from banks or other legal sources. The interest charged is very high and normally threats of violence are used towards those who fail to pay in time.

[edit] Red paints

Image:AhLong005.jpg Red paint is one of Ah Longs' famous emblems: whenever a person fails to pay in time and should they run away, red paint will be used as threat, to spray, splash or write on the walls of the house of that person. Normally the family would denounce the relations with that person when they could no longer endure any further humiliations upon them by debt collectors from Ah Longs.