33 suspected of loan shark activities netted in police raid
MediaCorp reporter joins police officers in a crackdown on illegal moneylenders
by Shaffiq Alkhatib
05:55 AM Apr 07, 2010
SINGAPORE - Thirty-three people suspected of loan shark activities were arrested in an island-wide operation that ended yesterday morning.
The 26 men and seven women - aged between 19 and 62 - were arrested in a 24-hour blitz conducted by about 60 officers at various locations including Jurong West, Bukit Panjang, Ghim Moh and Sembawang.
Items such as credit cards and bank transaction slips as well as mobile phones were seized.
Shortly after their pre-dawn briefing on Monday morning, teams of officers from Jurong Police Division homed in on their targets all across the island.
By 8am in the Jurong area - three hours after the operation began - the officers had detained five suspects. The handcuffed men looked docile as the officers took them in for further questioning.
This latest crackdown came on the heels of an operation on April 1 and is part of an effort to cripple illegal moneylenders and their associates such as runners, recruiters and harassers. Twenty people were arrested then.
These arrests come in the wake of the amended Moneylenders' Act that was rolled out on Feb 11 this year.
First-time offenders found guilty of assisting loan sharks now face stiffer penalties - a maximum fine of $300,000 and four years' jail. They can also receive up to six strokes of the cane.
There were about 18,600 cases of loan sharking activities last year, a big rise from about 11,800 in 2008.
MediaCorp reporter joins police officers in a crackdown on illegal moneylenders
by Shaffiq Alkhatib
05:55 AM Apr 07, 2010
SINGAPORE - Thirty-three people suspected of loan shark activities were arrested in an island-wide operation that ended yesterday morning.
The 26 men and seven women - aged between 19 and 62 - were arrested in a 24-hour blitz conducted by about 60 officers at various locations including Jurong West, Bukit Panjang, Ghim Moh and Sembawang.
Items such as credit cards and bank transaction slips as well as mobile phones were seized.
Shortly after their pre-dawn briefing on Monday morning, teams of officers from Jurong Police Division homed in on their targets all across the island.
By 8am in the Jurong area - three hours after the operation began - the officers had detained five suspects. The handcuffed men looked docile as the officers took them in for further questioning.
This latest crackdown came on the heels of an operation on April 1 and is part of an effort to cripple illegal moneylenders and their associates such as runners, recruiters and harassers. Twenty people were arrested then.
These arrests come in the wake of the amended Moneylenders' Act that was rolled out on Feb 11 this year.
First-time offenders found guilty of assisting loan sharks now face stiffer penalties - a maximum fine of $300,000 and four years' jail. They can also receive up to six strokes of the cane.
There were about 18,600 cases of loan sharking activities last year, a big rise from about 11,800 in 2008.
