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Aug 6, 2009
7 nabbed in loanshark raids <!--10 min-->
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SEVEN men were arrested early on Wednesday in an islandwide operation against a local loanshark syndicate. The syndicate is believed to be linked to at least 90 reports of harassment, including harassment by fire. Aged between 25 and 47 years, the men arrested included the syndicate leader, loansharks and runners.
During the simultaneous islandwide raids, Police seized about $11,000 in cash, mobile phones, an assortment of ATM cards, suspected debtor records, documents and computers. According to the Police, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects collected loan repayments via ATM fund transfers and conducted harassment, including splashing paint and the use of fire, at the residences of the debtors who default payment.
In an unrelated case on Tuesday evening, an off-duty police officer noticed a man behaving suspiciously near an ATM and tipped off his colleagues at the Ang Mo Kio Police Division.
Staff Sergeant Kalai Mahran continued to keep watch while Police officers were deployed, and a check conducted on the man uncovered multiple handphones, ATM cards and numerous bank transaction receipts in his possession. The suspect is believed to be a debtor-turned-runner who has been assisting in the collection of debt repayments to pay off his own debts. The rise in loansharking activities is an area of concern to police. In its mid-year crime report released on Wednesday, statistics show that the number of people, especially youths, caught for loansharking activities has gone up in the first six months. There were 9,395 reported cases of loansharking and harassment during the period, and 417 persons were caught - an increase from the 207 arrested during the same period last year.
A worrying trend is that 81, or one in five, were youths, a sharp rise from the 21 youths arrested a year go. First-time offenders found guilty of operating a business as an unlicensed moneylender may be fined up to $200,000 or jailed up to 2 years, or both. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $200,000, and mandatory imprisonment for up to 5 years. First-time offenders found guilty of committing loanshark harassment may be fined up to $40,000 or jailed up to 3 years, or both. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $40,000 and mandatory imprisonment for up to 6 years. In addition, offenders who cause damage to property or hurt to persons in the course of loanshark harassment are liable for caning.
Aug 6, 2009
7 nabbed in loanshark raids <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
SEVEN men were arrested early on Wednesday in an islandwide operation against a local loanshark syndicate. The syndicate is believed to be linked to at least 90 reports of harassment, including harassment by fire. Aged between 25 and 47 years, the men arrested included the syndicate leader, loansharks and runners.
During the simultaneous islandwide raids, Police seized about $11,000 in cash, mobile phones, an assortment of ATM cards, suspected debtor records, documents and computers. According to the Police, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects collected loan repayments via ATM fund transfers and conducted harassment, including splashing paint and the use of fire, at the residences of the debtors who default payment.
In an unrelated case on Tuesday evening, an off-duty police officer noticed a man behaving suspiciously near an ATM and tipped off his colleagues at the Ang Mo Kio Police Division.
Staff Sergeant Kalai Mahran continued to keep watch while Police officers were deployed, and a check conducted on the man uncovered multiple handphones, ATM cards and numerous bank transaction receipts in his possession. The suspect is believed to be a debtor-turned-runner who has been assisting in the collection of debt repayments to pay off his own debts. The rise in loansharking activities is an area of concern to police. In its mid-year crime report released on Wednesday, statistics show that the number of people, especially youths, caught for loansharking activities has gone up in the first six months. There were 9,395 reported cases of loansharking and harassment during the period, and 417 persons were caught - an increase from the 207 arrested during the same period last year.
A worrying trend is that 81, or one in five, were youths, a sharp rise from the 21 youths arrested a year go. First-time offenders found guilty of operating a business as an unlicensed moneylender may be fined up to $200,000 or jailed up to 2 years, or both. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $200,000, and mandatory imprisonment for up to 5 years. First-time offenders found guilty of committing loanshark harassment may be fined up to $40,000 or jailed up to 3 years, or both. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $40,000 and mandatory imprisonment for up to 6 years. In addition, offenders who cause damage to property or hurt to persons in the course of loanshark harassment are liable for caning.
