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The two families were asleep at home while the fire was raging outside. It was extinguished by the time SCDF officers arrived.
LOAN sharks who were likely deterred by closed-circuit television cameras outside a debtor's home resorted to setting fire to his neighbours' homes instead, residents said.
They were suspected of torching the gates of two families at Block 272, Toh Guan Road to put pressure on the debtor, who is believed to live one floor below the two units.
The two families living in the Jurong East housing block were asleep while the fire was raging outside their homes early on Saturday morning, Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported.
Neighbours said the families woke up only when Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers knocked on their doors.
An SCDF spokesman said the fire was extinguished by the time they arrived.
The police said they were informed about the incident at 12.08am on Saturday.
The incident has been classified as a case of suspected unlicensed moneylending harassment by fire.
Lianhe Wanbao reported that CCTV cameras were installed outside the debtor's home.
Neighbours believe that the loan sharks decided to target other flats to avoid being caught on camera.
A 41-year-old neighbour, known only as Mr Lee, told the evening daily that the debtor's door was apparently open when the loan sharks were loitering outside, so they did not dare to set fire to the unit.
One of the victims, who gave her name only as Madam Chen, told Lianhe Wanbao that she was asleep with her husband and son when the fire occurred.
"We completely had no idea what was happening. We got a shock when the doorbell suddenly rang in the middle of the night," she said.
The 50-year-old bookkeeper added that she had seen loan sharks' graffiti on the staircase wall a day before the fire.
Madam Chen said her family feels aggrieved. "We are innocent and got implicated for no reason. Setting fire outside our homes can lead to fatalities," she said.
She added that the debtor's father visited her family to apologise on behalf of his son.
"He said his son had agreed to be the guarantor of his friend's debt. His son got dragged into this," she said.
The debtor's father also offered to repaint Madam Chen's door.
"But I told him there is no point painting the door. It is already destroyed," she added.
Police arrest man involved in setting fire to two flats
AsiaOne Tuesday, Jun 16, 2015
Shin Min Daily News reported that the suspect was escorted to the scene of the crime this morning (June 16) at about 10am.
SINGAPORE - Police have arrested a 31-year-old man in connection to the loan shark harassment case in which the gates of two flats at Block 272 Toh Guan Road were set on fire.
The police said in a statement on Tuesday (June 16) that officers established the identity of the suspect with the aid of police cameras in the vicinity of the incident, and arrested the man in Toa Payoh Lorong 5 on Monday at about 5.20pm.
Loan shark-related "paraphernalia" such as cans of paint, bicycle chain locks and marker pens were seized during the arrest.
The gates of the two flats in Toh Guan Road were torched late on Friday night. Earlier reports said that the police were informed of the incident at 12.08am on Saturday.
Residents believe that the suspect set fire to the two flats above a debtor's flat after he was deterred by closed-circuit television cameras installed outside the debtor's flat.
The suspect is also believed to be involved in more than 10 cases of loan shark harassment islandwide, including at least five cases involving fire, the police said.
Shin Min Daily News reported that the suspect was escorted to the scene of the crime this morning at about 10am.
The Chinese daily reported that the suspect, a Malay man, was covered with tattoos. It also said that it was understood that the man was a Singaporean.
The police said that the man will be charged in court tomorrow for loan shark harassment. If found guilty, a first-time offender may be jailed up to five years, fined between $5,000 and $50,000, and may be sentenced to three to six strokes of the cane.
Alleged loanshark runner charged with setting fire to flat in Jurong East
Published on Jun 17, 2015 1:07 PM
Loanshark runner Mohamed Ashyik Mohamed Shawal, 31, is accused of setting fire to two Toh Guan road flats. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
By Elena Chong
SINGAPORE - A man was charged in court on Wednesday with causing annoyance to a house occupant by setting fire to his HDB flat for a loan taken by another resident.
No plea was taken from Mohamed Ashyik Mohamed Shawal, 31.
He is accused of acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender, known as Denzel, to torch a 12th-floor unit at Toh Guan Road in Jurong East by using flammable lighter fluid. He also wrote loanshark graffiti on the 12th-floor lift landing at 11.52pm on June 12.
The charge states that he caused annoyance to the house occupant in connection with an illegal loan taken by his neighbour on the 11th floor.
He was tracked down by police cameras mounted near the incident.
Ashyik was arrested on Monday in Toa Payoh. Cans of paint, bicycle chain locks and marker pens were seized.
He was remanded at Central Police Division for further investigation as he is believed to be involved in a series of similar incidents.
Ashyik's request to be sent to the Institute of Mental Health was turned down by District Judge Eddy Tham.
He will appear in court on June 24.
If convicted, he could be jailed for up to five years, fined up to $50,000 and given three to six strokes of the cane.
Alleged loanshark runner faces 26 more charges, bringing total to 27
Published on Jun 24, 2015 4:06 PM
Mohamed Ashyik Mohamed Shawal faces 26 more charges after being remanded at Central police division for a week for investigation. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
By Elena Chong
SINGAPORE - A man who was charged last week with torching the home of an innocent person, over a loan taken by someone living a floor below, faced 26 more charges on Wednesday (June 24).
Last week, Mohamed Ashyik Mohamed Shawal, 31, was charged with setting fire to a Housing Board flat at a block in Toh Guan Road.
On Wednesday, 26 more charges, including three of handing over his bank ATM cards to a loanshark, were slapped on him.
New charges include four accusing him of setting fire to Housing Board units. One of them was a unit on the same floor as the Toh Guan Road flat in last week's case.
He also allegedly acted on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender when he allegedly burnt paper to set fire to a flat in Boon Lay Drive on June 9.
Later that evening, he allegedly went to set fire to a corridor window of a Woodlands Avenue 1 flat and pasted a debtor note on the ledge of the unit's sliding window.
Later that day, he allegedly damaged a flat in Woodlands Drive 44 and scribbled on the lift landing wall about a loan taken by another resident.
On June 13, he allegedly tried to set fire to a unit in Woodlands Circle and used an indelible red marker to draw graffiti on the wall.
Also among the new charges are that he allegedly acted on behalf of another loanshark when he not only used indelible markers to draw graffiti but also used bicycle chain locks to secure the main gates of nine units at various locations between June 11 and 14.
The prosecution applied for an adjournment to obtain bank reports before tendering any further charges.
Bail of $80,000 was offered and Ashyik will return to court on July 22.
The maximum punishment for loanshark harassment is five years' jail, a $50,000 fine and six strokes of the cane.
If convicted of helping an unlicensed moneylender, he could be fined between $30,000 and $300,000 and jailed for up to four years.
Man sentenced to 5 years' corrective training and caning for loanshark harassment
Mohamed Ashyik Mohamed Shawal admitted to 10 charges, including one each of assisting in unlicensed moneylending by handing over his ATM card and of drug consumption. PHOTO: FILE
Published Nov 30, 2015, 1:32 pm SGT
Elena Chong
Court Correspondent
SINGAPORE - A debtor-turned-harasser was sentenced to five years' corrective training and 12 strokes of the cane on Monday (Nov 30) for loanshark harassment acitivites on behalf of two illegal moneylenders.
Car polisher Mohamed Ashyik Mohamed Shawal, 31, admitted to 10 charges, including one each of assisting in unlicensed moneylending by handing over his ATM card and of drug consumption. He faced a total of 28 charges.
He harassed 22 units over a week-long period in June this year.
The court heard that besides working as a car polisher, he had a sideline cleaning business and hired three workers.
Some time at the end of May, he faced financial difficulties and could not pay his workers. He then borrowed from two loansharks known as Marco and Denzel.
When he defaulted in his repayment of the loans, he worked for Marco to harass debtors such as by splashing paint and securing their main gates with a bicycle chain lock.
He was promised $80 by Marco for splashing paint and writing loanshark graffiti, and $1,000 by Denzel to set fire and write loanshark graffiti for every unit he harassed.
He found the offer tempting and agreed to work for them .
On June 12 - three days before his arrest - he set fire to the main gate of a Toh Guan Road flat and the corridor outside the 12th floor, using lighter fluid. He also defaced the wall of the staircase landing with a marker pen, writing loanshark graffiti.The cost of the total damage was about $3,680.
Investigation showed that the occupant of the unit below had taken a loan from Denzel and the occupant of the unit he harassed was innocent.
On June 9, he burned a piece of paper and placed it at a the main gate of a flat in Boon Lay Drive over a debt owed by a former occupant.
That evening, he set fire to a Woodlands flat after causing damage to an innocent party's main door and defacing the wall of the staircase landing. He also set fire to the corridor outside another unit and placed a debtor note on the window ledge of the unit when the occupant had nothing to do with the loan taken from Denzel.
The court heard that he harassed innocent victims in Serangoon, Admiralty and Tampines estates for Marco between June 12 and 14.
Ashyik has previous convictions for theft, vandalism, robbery and drug-related offences.
Eighteen other charges were taken into consideration during his sentencing.
