It also helped that the 31-year old, known as Mustafa Khan, was shipped off by his mother to Saudi Arabia for religious studies in the hope he would return a changed man.

And that it did. A now remorseful Mustafa helps victims harassed by “Ah Longs”, or loan sharks, via his association, Persatuan Hak Masyarakat Malaysia.

It has already helped settle 3,400 cases in the last six months, and now receives an average of 20 complaints a day against loan sharks.

Mustafa recalls his own frequent trips to the lockup, even admitting that he was once “addicted” to the gangster life. “But because of my mother, I changed,” Mustafa told FMT.

Mustafa said he was often bullied in school, which made him resentful and vengeful.

As a youth, he joined a gang in Negeri Sembilan and rose up its ranks, eventually becoming its leader. It was during those violent years that Mustafa sent several victims to the hospital, some in a coma.

He said it was his hatred for bullies that had initially led to him becoming a gangster but he now tries to atone for his dark past by helping those preyed on by “Ah Longs”.

“I get riled up by how Ah Longs treat people,” he said.

But Mustafa’s “services” do not come free, although there are exceptions made for certain cases. He and his team of eight take a 10% cut of the total sum owed to the loan sharks.

The payment is meant to serve as a lesson for the victims he helps not to borrow money from unlicensed syndicates.

“There are repeat ‘offenders’, but we do not help them as they seem to have not learned their lesson.”