The Police have arrested a 45-year-old man for his suspected involvement in assisting the loansharks in their business.
On 11 March 2020, the Police received a report from a victim who was harassed by unlicensed moneylenders to transfer money to a bank account in order to materialise her loan request. Following investigations, officers from Bedok Police Division established the identity of a loanshark runner who had collected Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards from debtors and used their bank accounts to harass victims to transfer money to the accounts. On 20 May 2020, an ambush was conducted along Yishun Avenue 9, and a man fitting the description was spotted behaving suspiciously. Upon conducting checks on the man, the officers found loanshark-related paraphernalia such as one handphone containing debtors’ records, one ATM card and three bank receipts in his possession. The man was subsequently arrested and the items were seized.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is believed to be a loanshark runner who had assisted the loansharks in their businesses by carrying out ATM transfers after collecting the ATM cards from debtors. Investigations are ongoing.
Under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010), the offence for first time offenders found guilty of assisting in carrying on the business of unlicensed moneylending carries a fine between $30,000 and $300,000, with mandatory imprisonment of up to four years, and mandatory caning of up to six strokes. In the case of a second or subsequent conviction, the offence carries a fine between $30,000 and $300,000, with mandatory imprisonment of up to seven years, and mandatory caning of up to 12 strokes.
Members of the public are advised to stay away from loansharks and not work with or assist the loansharks in any way. The public can call the Police at ‘999’ or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800-924-5664 if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in illegal loansharking activities.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
21 May 2020 @ 11:15 PM