14 arrested for loansharking activities
Posted: 01 March 2012 2118 hrs
SINGAPORE: Police arrested 14 people for suspected involvement in loansharking activities.
The eight men and six women are aged between 23 and 53.
In a 12-hour island-wide operation on February 29, police officers conducted raids at Geylang Bahru, Toa Payoh, Cantonment Close, Kallang Place, Yishun, Tampines and Woodlands, resulting in the arrest of 13 suspects.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects are believed to have opened bank accounts and given away their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharking syndicates to facilitate their illegal businesses. Investigations against the 13 suspects are ongoing.
In a separate case, police officers were conducting anti-crime patrols in Chinatown when they spotted a man behaving suspiciously.
Police conducted a check on the suspect and found eight boxes of name cards containing advertisements for illegal moneylending in his possession. He was immediately arrested.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the 27-year-old suspect is working for an unlicensed moneylending syndicate by distributing the name cards. The suspect will be charged in Court on March 2 for offences under the Moneylenders' Act.
If found guilty, he may be fined up to a maximum of S$300,000, jailed up to four years and given six strokes of the cane.
- CNA/fa
