Police have set up special units nationwide in a bid to crack down on loan sharks or illegal money lenders in the country who were reportedly using violence to settle debts.

"We have to act as money lenders are resorting to violence," the Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily on Sunday.

"Each state will have their own team to investigate and monitor activities of licenced and unlicenced money lenders," Musa said.

He said the police will be seconded to the housing and local government ministry, which issues licences to money lenders, to track down illegal money lending operations.

Storm of criticism

On Saturday the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation said it would form a special group to study existing laws against loan sharks and look for more efficient methods for dealing with the problem, the newspaper reported.

"We will also monitor complaints from victims. If we find criminal elements in the complaint, we will take it to the police," said the foundation's chairman, Maximus Ongkili.

Efforts to crackdown on loan sharks, or "Ah Long" as they are known in Malaysia, were stepped up after a couple who were harassed by illegal money lenders allegedly killed their three sons and then attempted to commit suicide.

The case unleashed a storm of criticism over loan shark operations.