Faith Story by Liu Mei Mei
Last year (2024), during the 40-day prayer meeting, I joined the gathering and wrote down my prayer request, placing it into the prayer bowl. I prayed and believed that God would help me solve my problem.
Here’s how the story began: Last year, I ran into some trouble with the tax authorities. It was a big issue – they suspected my company of money laundering. I have never engaged in tax evasion or money laundering but what I didn’t know was that a former accountant who had resigned several years ago had made a mistake in reporting the figures. This caused a mismatch between the bank balance and the data submitted to the tax authority. I only discovered this issue when I was questioned by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN).
When LHDN came to check, I had to answer their questions. I was locked in a room for four hours, facing the tax officers alone. They even took away my phone, so I couldn’t contact anyone.
But thank the Lord! After four hours of discussion, they didn’t immediately press charges against me. Instead, they gave me two days to find out why the reported figures didn’t match the bank account balance.
Tracking down a mistake from years ago was a challenge because the person who did the bookkeeping had already left the company a long ago. We had no idea what was done or where the error happened. Still, we continued to pray and trust God because with God, all things are possible!
Thank God for His grace. My new accountant managed to trace the incorrect amount and discovered the error. We submitted an appeal in time and LHDN accepted the appeal – they did not charge me with money laundering. I was instead fined a few thousand ringgit for a minor reporting error.
The tax officer told me that since money laundering is a very serious crime, if I didn’t manage to prove my innocence, the fine could have exceeded six figures, and I might have even faced jail time. She also said that before she came to investigate me, she had conducted a credit background check with local consumer affairs officers. They told her I had been doing business for over ten years, that they knew my character, and that they didn’t believe I would be involved in money laundering.
That officer even checked my Facebook to understand my lifestyle. It was then I understand why, during that four-hour meeting, she spent the first three hours talking to me mostly about personal matters, including marriage issues which I was going through. She told me she herself had recently experienced domestic violence in her own marriage. In the end, we ended up encouraging each other to be strong and courageous.
All glory to God! He not only protected me from harsher punishment, but also used my difficult situation to bring encouragement to someone else who was hurting.
From this experience, I learned that God is real, that He is always at work, and that He hears every prayer. Who does background checks before starting an investigation? Only someone whom God has personally arranged! I know this wasn’t a coincidence. I know God arranged it!
If you’re facing a big problem like I did, willingly entrust it fully. God will intervene for you. Indeed I encourage you to do what I did. If you’re facing a huge problem right now, hand it over to God completely!
Liu Mei Mei from Lawas