Errant licensed moneylender fined S$124,000
Posted: 25 March 2013 1850 hrs
SINGAPORE: A moneylender, whose licence was not renewed, has been fined S$124,000 for breaching the Moneylenders Act.
Tan Chun Hua was the sole proprietor of moneylending business Credit HT.
He held a moneylending licence from 5 October 2009 to 4 October 2010, which was not renewed after it expired as investigations revealed that the licensee had committed offences which warranted prosecution.
Tan pleaded guilty and was convicted on 13 out of 39 charges. These include granting an unsecured loan exceeding the prescribed limit of S$3,000 to a Singapore borrower with an annual income below S$20,000.
Five of the charges relate to breaches of the Act for recklessly furnishing false information to the Registrar of Moneylenders.
Four charges relate to breaches of the Act for granting an unsecured loan exceeding the prescribed limit of S$3,000 to a Singapore borrower with an annual income below S$20,000.
Three charges relate to breaches of the Act for granting an unsecured loan to a Singapore borrower with an annual income of at least S$30,000 but less than S$120,000, and thereby causing the outstanding loan amount to exceed the prescribed limit of four months of the borrower's income.
One charge relates to a breach of the Moneylenders Rules for granting an unsecured loan to a Singapore borrower with an annual income of at least S$20,000 but less than S$30,000, and thereby causing the outstanding loan amount to exceed the prescribed limit of two months of the borrower's income.
The remaining 26 charges were taken into consideration by the Court for the purposes of sentencing.
The fine is the second highest imposed on an errant licensed moneylender since 2011.
Eight licensed moneylenders have been convicted and fined since 2011.
Those convicted of breaches of the Moneylenders Act and Rules face a fine of up to S$40,000 and/or an imprisonment term of up to two years on each charge.
- CNA/ck
