Loan sharks go for bolder tactics
http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20101029-244676.html
Loan shark runners not only splash paint on doors and walls but also torch cars. -myp
Fri, Oct 29, 2010
my paper
By David Lim
LOAN-SHARK runners are getting bolder, veering away from merely splashing paint on doors and walls to, now, torching cars.
The latest incident in Choa Chu Kang where a car was set on fire in a multi-storey carpark on Oct 13 has raised concerns that their vindictive acts have moved beyond harassment into possibly inflicting injury.
It is believed to be the first time loan-shark runners have committed such an act.
MPs told my paper that enforcement against loan-shark activities and the practice of installing closed-circuit TV cameras outside residential units are driving loan-shark syndicates to think of fresh tactics.
Mr Baey Yam Keng, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said:
"The common practice of paint-splashing is not enough for them now, as many commonly targeted areas have had surveillance cameras set up, so they have to change their tactics."
Madam Halimah Yacob, an MP for Jurong GRC, said the recent case is a sign that loan-shark runners are becoming more aggressive in trying to get their message across.
She said: "They're just testing the limits to see how much more they can do, in order to frighten and threaten those who borrow money from them."
Mr Alvin Yeo, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law, said that loan-shark syndicates may be "bullying" their runners into taking on dangerous tasks.
He said: "The runners could be people who are in debt."
He added that the loan sharks may be forcing their runners to take on such tasks, which pay more than merely splashing paint.
The Moneylenders Act, which has been amended thrice, in 2005, 2008 and in February this year, has led to enhanced penalties for those convicted of loan sharking-related harassment activities.
Anyone found guilty of such harassment activities may be imprisoned for up to five years and fined up to $50,000.
If damage is done to property, those convicted may receive between three and six strokes of the cane.
There were 8,654 unlicensed money-lending and harassment cases in the first half of this year, a drop from 9,424 cases in the same period last year.
However, 789 people were arrested for such cases in that period this year - that is almost double the 419 arrested in the period last year.
While it may be too soon to say if torching cars is the start of a new trend, Mr Yeo said: "We should try to be one step ahead, but sometimes it is impossible to know exactly what they're going to do."
In the recent case, two Singaporean men, aged 30 and 35, were arrested over the past week for setting fire to a car at a multi-storey carpark in Choa Chu Kang North 5. Two other cars nearby were also damaged.
Preliminary investigations revealed that both suspects were working for an unlicensed money-lending syndicate. They are believed to have been involved in several other loan shark-related harassment cases island-wide.
Criminal Investigation Department director Ng Boon Gay said: "Such callous acts that blatantly disregard our laws and endanger the safety of the public cannot be condoned. The police will take swift action to hunt down these criminal elements and deal with them to the fullest extent of our law."
Retired police investigator Lionel De Souza told my paper that loan-shark runners are "puppets, and the puppeteers are the top guys whom, perhaps, the police have not identified".
He said that there is a hierarchy in these syndicates and that those calling the shots could well be the bosses of clean and legal businesses.
"As a result, the top man who is responsible is extremely hard to track down," said Mr De Souza.
Ultimately, it boils down to the way people here manage their money.
Mr Baey said: "People have to be more prudent in their spending so that they don't end up having to borrow from loan sharks. In a way, we have to curb the demand for their services."
http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20101029-244676.html
Loan shark runners not only splash paint on doors and walls but also torch cars. -myp
Fri, Oct 29, 2010
my paper
By David Lim
LOAN-SHARK runners are getting bolder, veering away from merely splashing paint on doors and walls to, now, torching cars.
The latest incident in Choa Chu Kang where a car was set on fire in a multi-storey carpark on Oct 13 has raised concerns that their vindictive acts have moved beyond harassment into possibly inflicting injury.
It is believed to be the first time loan-shark runners have committed such an act.
MPs told my paper that enforcement against loan-shark activities and the practice of installing closed-circuit TV cameras outside residential units are driving loan-shark syndicates to think of fresh tactics.
Mr Baey Yam Keng, an MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, said:
"The common practice of paint-splashing is not enough for them now, as many commonly targeted areas have had surveillance cameras set up, so they have to change their tactics."
Madam Halimah Yacob, an MP for Jurong GRC, said the recent case is a sign that loan-shark runners are becoming more aggressive in trying to get their message across.
She said: "They're just testing the limits to see how much more they can do, in order to frighten and threaten those who borrow money from them."
Mr Alvin Yeo, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law, said that loan-shark syndicates may be "bullying" their runners into taking on dangerous tasks.
He said: "The runners could be people who are in debt."
He added that the loan sharks may be forcing their runners to take on such tasks, which pay more than merely splashing paint.
The Moneylenders Act, which has been amended thrice, in 2005, 2008 and in February this year, has led to enhanced penalties for those convicted of loan sharking-related harassment activities.
Anyone found guilty of such harassment activities may be imprisoned for up to five years and fined up to $50,000.
If damage is done to property, those convicted may receive between three and six strokes of the cane.
There were 8,654 unlicensed money-lending and harassment cases in the first half of this year, a drop from 9,424 cases in the same period last year.
However, 789 people were arrested for such cases in that period this year - that is almost double the 419 arrested in the period last year.
While it may be too soon to say if torching cars is the start of a new trend, Mr Yeo said: "We should try to be one step ahead, but sometimes it is impossible to know exactly what they're going to do."
In the recent case, two Singaporean men, aged 30 and 35, were arrested over the past week for setting fire to a car at a multi-storey carpark in Choa Chu Kang North 5. Two other cars nearby were also damaged.
Preliminary investigations revealed that both suspects were working for an unlicensed money-lending syndicate. They are believed to have been involved in several other loan shark-related harassment cases island-wide.
Criminal Investigation Department director Ng Boon Gay said: "Such callous acts that blatantly disregard our laws and endanger the safety of the public cannot be condoned. The police will take swift action to hunt down these criminal elements and deal with them to the fullest extent of our law."
Retired police investigator Lionel De Souza told my paper that loan-shark runners are "puppets, and the puppeteers are the top guys whom, perhaps, the police have not identified".
He said that there is a hierarchy in these syndicates and that those calling the shots could well be the bosses of clean and legal businesses.
"As a result, the top man who is responsible is extremely hard to track down," said Mr De Souza.
Ultimately, it boils down to the way people here manage their money.
Mr Baey said: "People have to be more prudent in their spending so that they don't end up having to borrow from loan sharks. In a way, we have to curb the demand for their services."
