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Inahime
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Sep 28, 2010
63 held in loanshark blitz
By Bryan Huang
Loansharks' sign at a lift landing. -- ST FILE PHOTO
POLICE arrested 63 people for suspected involvement in loansharking activities in an island-wide blitz on Monday. In a 14 hour-operation, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division carried out raids at Bukit Merah, Clementi, Woodlands, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Hougang, Punggol, Sengkang, Bedok and Tampines and nabbed 51 men and 12 women.
Preliminary investigations revealed that 63 suspects, aged between 16 and 64, had opened bank accounts and given their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Number (PIN) to loansharks to facilitate their illicit activities. A number of ATM cards were also seized during the operation. All the bank accounts believed to have been used in the unlicensed moneylending have since been frozen.
Most of the suspects are believed to be either debtors or guarantors. Investigations are still on-going. Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Hsu Sin Yun, Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division HQ, said of the crackdown on loansharking activities: 'The message to those who continue to flout the law is clear. We will not hesitate to take tough enforcement action against individuals who allow their bank accounts to be used by the loansharks or assist them in their illicit business in any way.'
