Suicide is often something many don’t like to acknowledge. After all, anyone contemplating suicide means that they’re at the end of their rope, facing their last resort. For this local young man, he felt suicide was his only way out.
The 20-year-old had been dealing with a major problem by himself. After attempting to find girls online, he was apparently filmed while masturbating and a group then used the footage to blackmail him. They threatened to send the footage out unless he paid them a certain sum. Afraid of it affecting his family, the young man then decided to take his own life.
The victim Leong Yongjun (梁永骏) was from Gombak. He was the youngest of his family and has four siblings. He was supposed to celebrate his 21st birthday in October. However, it was not to be. On 15th September, his mother was woken up at 6am by crying her grandson. He apparently needed to use the bathroom, but couldn’t open the door.
According to her, her grandson and Yongjun shared a room. As such, she urged her grandson to seek help from his uncle. “I was outside the door, and I told (my grandson) to go ask his uncle for help,” the mother shared. “But (my) grandson said that his uncle (was) standing on the bed and (was not) responding.” When she finally opened the room’s door, she was shocked to see that her son had hanged himself.
The mother claims her son had been a quiet and well-behaved child. Yongjun loved her very much and often looked after her when he could. “He would accompany me at night before heading to bed and (would) give me a massage. He was also responsible for the worship at home, so I didn’t need to worry about it,” she shared in a press conference yesterday (19th September).
The family later discovered that Yongjun had been blackmailed via his mobile phone. Apparently, a group had gotten footage of him masturbating and threatened to spread it, unless he paid them. Yongjun had supposedly given them RM1000 on 14th September, but was asked for another RM2000. If he failed to pay the additional fee, the footage would be sent to his family and friends.
Yongjun, distressed by the whole issue, did not want to concern his family about it. As such, he wrote a goodbye note to his family before taking his own life. His mother also recalled his strange actions the night before, saying he had come to see her before bed. “At 10pm, my son came to my door in pyjamas and smiled at me. I asked him where he was going, but he closed the door without saying a word. I didn’t take it seriously,” she shared.
Currently, Yongjun’s family is hoping for justice for him. “We don’t think it’s shameful,” his mother reportedly stated during the press conference. “We want justice for (my) son.” The family’s bold call has been backed up by MCA State Liaison Committee member Sdr. Ng How Doo. He commended the family for bravely exposing the incident and added that he hoped the authorities would find the perpetrators as soon as possible.
The family claims they have not been able to trace when Yongjun started interacting with people online as he had deleted the information. However, his phone did contain several dating apps. Additionally, some relatives and friends have reportedly received indecent footage of Yongjun. The family has already reported the case to the police and provided a few phone numbers thought to be involved, to the authorities.
Yongjun’s mother was in tears as she shared that this was the third year since her husband’s passing. She did not expect to lose her son so soon like this. Our hearts go out to the family and those who knew him. We sincerely hope they will find peace in his passing.
Sources: China Press, E Nanyang, Kwongwah, Sinchew Daily
