More young people caught for loansharking

[Kotaro Fuma]

Jan 11, 2011

More young people caught for loansharking

By Tham Yuen-C

Between January and November last year, police caught 159 young people aged 19 years and below who were involved in loansharking and related harassment activities. -- PHOTO: NP

MORE young people were arrested for loansharking last year against the year before, many of them lured by the promise of easy money.

Between January and November last year, police caught 159 young people aged 19 years and below who were involved in loansharking and related harassment activities, a 12 per cent rise from the 142 nabbed in the same period in 2009.

In the first 11 months of last year, police arrested 1,443 people in total for loansharking and harassment activities, an increase of about 66 per cent from 868 in the same period the year before.

In Parliament on Tuesday, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, revealed these numbers in reply to questions from Nominated MP Paulin Tay Straughan on young people arrested for loansharking activities. He also shed light on the profile of these young offenders.

The majority were between 16 and 19. However, arrests of those under 16 had dropped to 16 last year, from 27 the year before, as a result of an amendment to the Moneylenders Act in January, which made it illegal for adults aged 21 and above to recruit young people below 16 for illegal moneylending activities.

'We believe that the enhanced penalties is one of the reasons why the number of cases has dropped,' said Prof Ho.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times

 

[Kotaro Fuma]

Concerns over youths caught for loansharking offences
By S Ramesh | Posted: 11 January 2011 1700 hrs
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SINGAPORE : The Home Affairs Ministry is concerned over the number of young people involved in loansharking and related harassment crimes.

Replying to questions in Parliament on Tuesday, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, said that between January and November last year, 159 youths were caught for these crimes.

This compares to 142 arrests of youth for the same period in 2009.

A majority of those caught were between 16 and 19 years old. A third were students, while another third were unemployed.

Associate Professor Ho stressed that early intervention and public education are needed to prevent youths from falling into crime.

He said: "We have to continue to get youths to realise that this is no easy money. It may look easy, but once you are recruited, you are sucked into a system where money may seem to come easy in the beginning...you do more, you are ultimately going to be caught.

"But for all youths, I understand that in terms of harsher punishment, quite a number are sent to the Reformative Training Centre. So a stint in the RTC will be good and they will be noted for their propensity to be easily lured by money and in the RTC there will be programmes that will help to rehabilitate them."

- CNA/ms