He now calls his time with the Sunshine Empire the darkest period of his life. But when he was in the multi-level marketing firm then, he felt as though the sun would never stop shining.
Mr Malcolm Chew, 25, spent all his savings and about $100,000 received from his loved ones to buy Sunshine's "lifestyle packages" in 2006. "People told me then that it was too good to be true. They told me not to believe in it. But I did," he said.
He lost 70 per cent of the money when Sunshine crashed in 2007, and joined tens of thousands of other customers left high and dry after buying the firm's packages.
Mr Chew told The New Paper on Wednesday that he was in his second year of national service six years ago when a friend invited him to a "self-help seminar". "I was told I could learn about entrepreneurship and how to start making money from a young age," he said.
Although he has since lost touch with that friend, Mr Chew vividly remembers the day he attended the seminar. That was the first time he saw James Phang Wah, founder and head of Sunshine Empire, in action. Phang, who was known as Lao Da (Mandarin for big brother or chief), was a "very charismatic" man, he said.
Mr Chew added: "He was like a very inspiring preacher, telling us how to live life successfully. "I saw him hug his wife on stage and was touched. I thought, 'This man is a good guy. I want to be like him'."
The salesmen, who were Phang's followers, were always smartly suited, in shirt and tie, he said. After Phang's court appearances, these men waited to whisk him away in a convoy of luxury cars. Said Mr Chew: "These salesmen would say, 'Do you want to be a pioneer in this project? Don't let the opportunity go!'"
Said Mr Chew: "I realised I had been ignorant, arrogant, proud and brash. My actions had displeased and disappointed many." "Words can't express the myriad feelings I went through with Sunshine. I hope no one else walks that path. "But I'm not looking back. I'm looking ahead instead."
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