He lured teens to do his loan shark work
About 80 youngsters were taken to the Bedok police station for investigations on 7 July 2011. They were arrested for distributing name cards and fliers advertising loan shark activities.
By Amanda Phua
The New Paper
Sunday, Jul 29, 2012
He owed several loan sharks money.
Unable to pay them, he was asked to choose between harassing debtors or promoting the illegal business as a means of repayment.
Roland Phang Keng Min chose the latter.
He received $25 for every 1,000 business cards or pamphlets he gave out.
To clear his $6,000 debt faster, Phang hired 144 people from early May to early July last year to help him.
Of the group, at least 100 were minors under the age of 16 at that time.
The oldest was 28.
On Thursday, Phang, 41, was jailed two years and fined $480,000 for 32 charges of roping in the minors, 16 charges for assisting with unlicensed moneylending, and one charge of criminal breach of trust.
Another 97 similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.
He was caught when police set up a trap for him on July 6 last year around 7pm.
They arranged a meeting with him at Yew Tee MRT station on the pretext of collecting business cards and pamphlets.
Phang turned up with his girlfriend, Priscilla Zhuang Jing Wei, 29.
When police raided Phang's vehicle and home, they found 100,000 business cards and pamphlets from 10 different unlicensed moneylenders, and one exercise book with records of his runners' working schedules.
Zhuang's case has yet to be heard.
According to court documents, Phang owned a licensed moneylending business.
When it failed and his debts mounted, he turned to the illegal moneylenders for help.
He put up online ads for business card and pamphlet distribution, and 144 people responded.
For every 1,000 pieces they gave out, he paid them $13.
Hauled up
But the police acted quickly and last July, more than 80 youngsters were hauled up by Bedok Police Division for questioning, The New Paper reported.
Their parents had to put up $2,000 bail each.
The frightened teens were baffled when police turned up at their schools.
Parents, too, were angry that a seemingly innocent holiday job had landed their children in trouble with the law.
On top of the unlicensed moneylending offences, Phang faced one charge of criminal breach of trust.
While working as a salesman with a furniture company, Phang collected $4,103 from two customers.
It was meant as payment for furniture, but Phang pocketed it.
He has since returned the full sum.
Phang, stocky and bespectacled, looked concerned as District Judge Liew Thiam Leng began reading out the sentence.
Judge Liew said: "There is an exploitation of the persons of a very young age to be assisting in the promotion of an unlicensed moneylending business."
He also took note of the large number of charges, including those taken into consideration.
For involving the minors in his illegal activities, Phang could have been jailed up to seven years and fined a maximum of $300,000 per charge.
For assisting with unlicensed moneylending, he could have been fined up to $300,000 and jailed up to four years per charge.
For criminal breach of trust, Phang could have been jailed up to three years and fined.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Marcus Foo asked the court for a deterrent sentence as Phang annoyed neighbourhoods with an "onslaught of advertisements", which was precisely what the law wanted to prevent.
He also highlighted how Phang tricked the minors into believing the work was legal by asking them to sign "agreement forms".
Said DPP Foo: "An illusion of legitimacy was created to assuage those minors who were more cautious. This illegitimate arrangement was implemented in the most 'timely' fashion - during the June holidays when students would be looking for a part time job or a means to ease their boredom.
"The accused (Phang) actively sought other persons, otherwise innocent, to participate in a criminal enterprise formulated to serve the accused's own selfish purposes."
It is not clear if the people working for Phang will be dealt with.
This article was first published in The New Paper.
