Nine arrested for loanshark activities
AsiaOne
Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013
SINGAPORE - Police have arrested four men and five women, aged between 24 and 60, for loanshark activities.
In a two-day operation from April 29 to 30, officers conducted simultaneous raids in Beach Road, Compassvale, Jurong West and Merpati Road resulting in the arrest of the nine.
They are believed to have opened bank accounts and given away their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharks to facilitate their businesses.
All the suspects are either borrowers or guarantors and had agreed to assist the loansharks either for monetary gains or to offset their debts.
Investigations against the suspects are still ongoing. Under the Moneylenders Act 2010, first-time offenders found guilty of assisting in the business of an unlicensed moneylender, may be fined $30,000 to $300,000, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding four years, and shall also be punished with caning of not more than six strokes.
